A Series of Unfortunate Decisions
by robbiepoo2341
Summary: The X-Kids seem to have a knack for picking relationships that are absolutely the worst for them. Elin Howlett's found a pushy guy, Krissy Wagner's dating an ex-weapon, and Chance Summers is getting caught up in Viper's (former?) apprentice. Their parents want to let them make their own mistakes, but man, is it hard to watch.
1. New Semester, New Beginnings

**A/N: Welcome back to the 714 Universe! Canucklehead Cowgirl and I have been going strong on this universe for years now, and we're on Volume 36 now; can you believe it? Reading order is on my profile.**

* * *

**Chapter 1: "New Semester, New Beginnings"**

* * *

Elin had just gotten back from Japan with her family. The Howletts had taken the entire summer to set up the satellite for refugee mutants in Asia with Hisako, and after Noh went through with a security protocol to make it safer for wayward mutants, it was finally done. And operational — which was kind of a miracle with the way Japanese politics were involved.

It had been a long, mostly peaceful summer, and she'd loved every minute of it, even though she felt bad when the time came for her to break up with Takashi, even if the fling had only lasted the last couple of weeks of vacation. Of course, Kitty had been sure to tease her mercilessly on the grounds that she was following in her father's footsteps — leaving broken hearts in her wake across the globe.

When the family of ferals got back to Westchester the day before school started, Elin absolutely was happy to be home. But with all the kids coming in for school from all corners, she didn't really want to see everyone from the old group like she had when she was smaller.

The little meet ups over the summer had been kinda nice … but so had the isolation, peace, and quiet. Her best friends had been gone, studying abroad for what had felt like forever, but even when they'd come to visit, much of Elin's time while they were there was dedicated to the school — furthering the team and Xaviers as a whole. Even she and Krissy had only managed a few days together with their siblings during the full two weeks the Wagners had come to play.

Not only that, but her friends all seemed to know what they wanted to _be,_ and Elin didn't really want to get in the middle of whatever it was they were up to now. It felt like everyone had found their path — and in most instances, it was as far away from the team as possible. All while Elin was simply working with the team and trying to decide if she even wanted to be a hero. Or if she had any other options. Missions and team practices had been her safe place where _no one _bothered her with talk about the fiasco with Nolan, so she'd thrown herself into it deeper.

As far as other options went, though, it didn't help her fight with indecision that everyone in and around the team seemed to assume that was what she should do, and while many of the other students got lots of ideas from the teachers at Xaviers on what _else _they could do — and where their strong points were — Elin … felt like she had not gotten that same level of counseling.

Her brother was set. James had started a little internship of sorts before the vacation and was returning to it already. Easy work for a kid that had already managed several degrees and was working alongside Bruce Banner and Tony Stark — and causing more trouble than either of them quite knew what to do with. Her little sisters … well. Sadie had shown a talent for dance early on and had already decided that she wanted to be a professional dancer, and Malin was young enough that she simply refused to discuss anything of that nature.

Which made Elin feel like her only route in life was to keep up the 'family tradition'. But she wasn't on the senior team yet. And before she ended up there, she decided to step out of Xaviers to go to the school in Salem Center, just to try it out again. Her attempt at a different school in LA had been less than fruitful, and she still didn't feel as if she was smart enough to go to Chicago with the brainiacs.

She was in her room unwinding when she heard the _moment _Krissy and Chance returned from Europe, laughing loudly and having a great time. Very suddenly, she didn't really want to be around anyone, and before they could show up and say hello — and she knew they'd teleport in at any moment — she slipped out of the window and made a rush for the treeline. She had no idea _why _she did it, only that she wanted to be alone far more than she wanted to listen to an overdramatic retelling of how _amazing _the travels were. Especially when Elin had spent her summer _working._

She got into the trees without any trouble, and as far as she knew, no one had even spotted her, so she disappeared into the woods to keep her peace and quiet for a bit longer.

* * *

Elin was still fighting the thirteen-hour time difference after spending months in Japan, so when morning came on the first day of school, she was understandably worn out. According to her body clock, it was more like eight o' clock at night rather than seven in the morning.

She'd planned on taking her father's Jeep to school — and even had the keys in one hand and her hot green tea and jasmine in the other — when Krissy called out for her to wait by teleporting a few feet in front of her and tackling her. She very nearly dropped her tea.

"Welcome back," Krissy said, squeezing Elin tightly. "How was the rest of your time in Japan?"

Elin smirked and hugged her friend just as tightly. "I loved it," she told her. "I thought James was going to completely lose his mind with Dad making him toe the line after the Summers boys left, but … really. It was fantastic. I may have to move there. Anything happen in Europe that you forgot to tell me about?"

Krissy gave Chance a pointed look, but he sort of shook his head with a rueful smile. "Not really?" he said. "I mean, most of it was in the emails."

"You know: daring rescues, romantic getaways…" Krissy said, grinning widely.

"Oh yeah. Lots of that, I'm sure," Elin said with a nod. "Sounds perfect for the two of you."

"Would have been more romantic with someone else, huh, Chance?" Krissy said, still with that same grin.

Chance rolled his eyes. Hard. "Seriously, Krissy?"

Elin's nose was scrunched up, and she was frowning Krissy's way. "You really are weird sometimes."

Krissy shrugged. "No, really, I told him he should really _ask _someone out this year, but he's being a pain…"

"What are you talking about?" Elin said. "Why would he ask someone out?"

Chance looked between the two girls for a moment with dawning comprehension. "Wait. I thought… Krissy told you?"

"Told me what? That you decided to go full on swingers while you were in Europe? No. No, that is probably something she didn't want in writing."

"We haven't been dating for months now," Chance explained, looking over at Krissy like she'd totally dropped the ball. "I thought she told you."

Krissy flushed purple. "It was… it wasn't like it was one specific day that we said 'we're not dating anymore'. It was more… gradual…"

"Well. Okay then." Elin nodded once, then shook her head at the news before continuing in a breath mostly to herself. "Always the last to know. Situation normal."

Krissy looked incredibly apologetic and very, very bright purple. "I …"

But Elin held her hands up quickly. "No. It's fine. I just didn't know. Not important anyhow."

"It is, though!" Krissy said, her eyes wide. "Oh my gosh — we — I just — I totally fail at best friend communication! I'm a _hypocrite_!" She threw both arms in the air and then covered her face with both hands. "It … it … it wasn't even really… It was more awkward _before _we broke up and… and…"

"It's fine, guys. It doesn't matter," Elin said, already chalking it up to the usual treatment she'd been getting from those she was on decent terms with. "Really. Wasn't my business anyhow."

Chance cleared his throat as he looked between the girls and rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry, El. I thought you were in the loop."

"Nope. Definitely out." Elin couldn't help but glance over at the clock and break up their chat, though. She was going to be late if she wasn't careful. "Well, this is great, and … it's nice to see you guys …. but I have to get to class, so …" Elin shrugged and picked up her travel mug. "I guess … I'll see you around."

"You're not going here?" Chance asked as the smile slipped off of his face. "I thought you were going to go out for the senior team when you graduated."

Elin shrugged and kept walking for the garage. "Doesn't mean I _have _to go here. Not exactly a friendly environment for me, so..." She turned to walk. "I'll catch you two later."

"Let us drive you. Or at least let him," Krissy said, teleporting the short distance just because she could. "Chance isn't going to Canada until this weekend. No reason he couldn't drive you for the first week."

"Not necessary. I … was just going to take Dad's Jeep …" Elin said before she gave them both a tight kind of a smile. "Maybe I'll see you after school. We can probably hang out at some point before you go north, though."

"Come on, El," Chance said with a winning smile. "I've got just the one week here; let me drive you. We can catch up. I promise I won't run us off the road," he teased.

She thought about it as Krissy danced in place — making it clear that there would be more drama to deal with if she didn't agree. She let out a weary sigh and tossed the keys his way. "Fine. I'll probably be too tired to drive myself home after school anyhow, and you're abandoning us for greener pastures soon."

"Just for the one year," Chance said as he caught the keys.

"Right. You mean in addition to all the time you were in Europe already?" she said, nodding to herself.

"I'm still going to come visit my favorite people on weekends — as often as I can," Chance said as they headed for the garage. "I mean, it's not as easy as teleporting out with Krissy and the bamfs, but worth it to see the family."

"Just an excuse. You like to fly anyhow," she said, though she didn't believe that he was going to keep up _anything _like returning to Westchester unless he had to.

"I do," he agreed. He opened her door for her and grinned as she climbed in. "Besides, like you can talk. You're trying new things too."

"Tired of the rumors and looks I get here," she explained.

"What kind of looks?" he asked, raising an eyebrow her way.

"You're kidding right?" Elin said, frowning at him, but when he looked sincere, she shook her head. "For the sake of not bringing up too much stupid, let's go with the 'your parents are terrifying' looks."

"Shameful. They should be terrified of _you_," he teased.

"That's part of it," she admitted. "Especially after I started destroying the rumor spreaders from the _other _crap that is actually more bothersome to listen to."

"Not too late to come up north with me," he offered. "I mean, there's still going to be some of that, but without our parents _there_…"

"With the way Mac and Heather were beaming at me, it'd be bad in a whole different way," she said.

Chance shrugged as he thought it over. "Point," he conceded. "Still. I want to hear about it, huh? When I come down weekends. I'm sure you'll knock Salem Center dead."

"We'll see how it goes," she said, looking out the window. "I'm reserving judgement."

"And I'll tell you how Canada goes. You've still got another year," he said. He grinned quietly for a bit before he added, "And then, you know, it's missions and world-saving from then on."

"Right," she agreed quietly. "_That's_ what it'll be."

"Come on. To hear Krissy tell it, it's all derring-do and swashbuckling for the rest of our lives," he teased.

"That's what she's looking for," Elin replied. "Maybe she'll find it … maybe she'll make her own drama … either way…."

"Either way, you both know my number if you need it," he said, tipping his head her way. "For swashbuckling — or whatever."

"I'll keep you on speed-dial," she replied with a little smirk.

He just grinned at her after that, and it wasn't too long before they were pulling up to the high school. "See you after class," he said. "I want to hear about it, really. Kind of novel for our group — the normal high school thing."

"Sure. Nothing like going as low-key as possible."

* * *

Meanwhile, classes were starting up in Westchester, and there was the usual flood of new faces, as always, but when Krissy was grabbing a bite to eat at lunch, she was surprised to see a familiar-looking blonde also making himself something in the kitchen.

"What are you doing here?" Krissy blurted out, recognizing the young man from Norway but not quite placing his name.

He looked up and broke into a smile when he saw her — though she noticed that he was wearing long sleeves and gloves, for some reason. "Ah! It's my rescuer," he said, the smile widening. "I was hoping I'd run into you here - so I could apologize for what happened this summer and maybe start again." He stuck out his hand for her to shake. "I'm Christian."

"Krissy," she said, gently shaking his hand. "And you really don't need to apologize. I'm an X-Man. We've seen a lot of kids getting screwed over by weapons programs like that. One of my best friends destroyed, like, half a dozen huge government facilities just last year working for Russia. Not like it's your fault people are stupid."

Christian smiled and nodded. "Well, I still owe you an apology. It wasn't a very nice introduction."

"No, not really," Krissy had to agree as she sat down with her sandwich and waited for Christian to do the same. She watched him peel off his gloves and gently set them aside and then tipped her head to the side. "What's with the gloves?"

Christian raised an eyebrow her way and then looked down at the gloves and let out a sigh. "I can't control my powers, and they involve touching people, so as a rule, I try not to touch people."

"Oh." Krissy nodded. "Well, what happens if you do?"

"They see things that aren't there."

Krissy nodded thoughtfully. "Then I won't shake your hand unless you're wearing gloves."

Christian let his shoulders drop as he nodded. "Yes, it's a little bit isolating, but it's safer for everyone involved."

"The Norwegians didn't want you to control your powers, did they?" Krissy asked with her head tipped to the side, her swaying tail betraying her interest in the boy's story.

He shook his head. "Why would they want to?" he pointed out. "I can disorient, confuse, practically paralyze people. They would just send me ahead of a pickup team and then grab whoever I touched."

Krissy frowned and then reached over to rest a hand on his arm in a comforting gesture. "Well, you've come to the right place to figure that kind of thing out," she promised.

"That's what everybody keeps telling me," he agreed with a nod.

Krissy gave him an encouraging smile over the top of her glass of water. "Don't worry," she said. "You've just never had to control it before. I'm sure you'll get the hang of it really quickly. I mean, my friend Charlie had to learn how to turn her powers off to keep from going pretty much insane — I know it can be done."

"You don't have to turn yours off, do you?"

"Ah, no. I have to concentrate to 'port."

"Then you don't know…" He let out a breath and shook his head. "We'll just see how this goes. Honestly, I just want to learn how to _use _them instead of letting them run my life."

"Like I said: you'll figure it out in no time," Krissy assured him with a bright smile.

"Thanks."

* * *

James was more than happy to get back to work at Stark's building. The jet-lag factor actually helped him when it came to dealing with Tony and those closest to him, anyhow.

He didn't get into the tower until almost ten - and even though he was running thirteen hours ahead of New York, he'd been in the habit of staying up way too late, so in this case, it worked for him.

He didn't pay any attention to the new kids poking around. He had his own lab, after all, so there wasn't any reason to intermingle unless he _wanted _to. And he didn't. Most of the kiss-ups that went through on their internships were mooney-eyed at the idea of being around the Avengers, and James had seen it all. And been bored with it since his second week of being Stark and Richard's little golden boy.

Of course, it hadn't helped one bit that most of the time, the interns thought he was an intern of some sort himself, and no matter how many times Tony would send him someone to assist him, it never took any time before he was telling them to just go get reassigned.

Coffee in hand, James headed up to where he'd been tinkering before his break. He was just getting settled in when Tony came by with a grin. "Been here long?"

"Nope," James said, shaking his head lightly. "We just got in late last night. Slept in."

Tony grinned crookedly. "About time you got with the program."

"What program? Sleep till noon and then tinker up whatever the hell I feel like?" James asked, frowning at him.

"Exactly. All we need to do now is set you up with a lovely assistant."

"No," James said, shaking his head. "Every time you send one of your interns in here, they think I'm the guy that's picking up or taking notes. No."

"Sooner or later, big man, you're going to need the backup, and it was totally part of your package deal anyhow," Tony told him, rapping his knuckles on the counter and then pointing his way. "Mark my words. We just need to make sure you have the right fit, that's all."

"Nice to see you too, Tony," James called out as Tony finally left him to get back to work on the updated comms system he was making for the team. James hadn't said anything to Scott beyond it needed upgrading, but the truth was the old system was bulky — and had a small loophole that could be hacked into — so … he figured he'd just close that loophole for him.

Of course, he knew that Tony wasn't going to just leave him alone after he'd been gone for most of the summer, so he wasn't surprised in the least when he returned. James was shaking his head before he even got all the way through the door, because, of course, Tony had brought someone with him. He decided to pointedly ignore him as Tony and his soon-to-be assigned assistant walked up behind him.

"I know I didn't sneak up on you," Tony said.

"No, you did not." James was still trying to ignore him, but he knew it was a losing battle, and he automatically got to his feet when Tony clapped a hand on his shoulder, though Tony took a step back with a little smirk on his face.

"Oh. Where did the _height _come from?" Tony asked. "You … have outstripped both your mom and dad — how?"

"We're not here to talk genetics, are we?" James asked. "Because if we are, I am in the wrong lab."

"No, no … this is your new helper." He looked overly proud as he pulled the pretty blonde girl over and rested both hands on her shoulders as he grinned at James.

It was laughable. "I'm James," he said, offering his hand to the girl. "And he's an idiot."

The girl lit up and set James back a hair at how warm she was. "Vanessa. _So _nice to finally meet you!"

James frowned and turned to Tony. "Finally?" But Tony only grinned a little wider.

"You kids have fun," Tony said before he left, closing the door behind him and leaving Vanessa to explain in a quick pace what she meant.

"I'm precognitive," she said, grinning widely. "And when I got here last week, I had a vision about you. We're going to be very close, James."

James clearly didn't buy it at all as he drew in a deep breath and held it, watching her for a long moment, at a total loss for words on how to approach this girl. "I'm … I'm just going to get to work," James said, pointing to the mess of wires and circuit boards on the workbench. "You … do … whatever … yeah."

He went back to his seat and took far too long to get back into the stride he'd been in before Tony and Vanessa completely derailed him.

* * *

"Hey, could I ask a favor?"

Tyler and Hank both looked up from what they were doing — their heads had been together as they coordinated a few things for Tyler as the next wave of students hit Chicago and a few of the rescues headed their way were hyped on boost and needed the latest techniques to come down. When they saw Gerry standing in the doorway, though, both of them grinned.

"You don't have to ask," Tyler said. "What's up?"

"Organic chemistry."

Both Tyler and Hank let out noises that perfectly showed how sympathetic they were to Gerry's predicament. "Ah," Hank said simply.

"I'm only one class into the semester, and I'm already very sure I'm going to need help studying," Gerry said. "I'm better with anatomy…"

"You're _great _in all your classes," Tyler assured him. "You just psych yourself out when you get the ones with the professors who try to scare you into dropping out."

"That professor of chemistry last semester was particularly egregious," Hank agreed.

Gerry pulled a face. "No kidding."

Tyler smirked and got up to knock shoulders with Gerry. "Really, though — we've got your back."

"Thanks," Gerry said, grinning up at Tyler. Because, really, there was something that made him feel invincible knowing his childhood hero was on his side.


	2. Seize the Opportunity

**A/N: CrowWren, I'm glad you like the writing style! I write with Canucklehead Cowgirl, and we've got a *lot* of volumes in this particular universe, so we've really had time to fine-tune it. (Feel free to check out the earlier stuff, too! :D)**

* * *

**Chapter 2: "Seize the Opportunity"**

* * *

The local school at Salem Center was pretty much everything that Elin had thought it was going to be. Too many kids, not enough room to move, packed into classrooms like sardines — comparatively, that is.

But … it was still a way to put some distance between herself and pretty much everyone at the school. She'd really only ever had that one part of a year in Kindergarten where she had to deal with teachers that weren't like family, and really, she wanted to see how much the staff at Xaviers was coddling her and blowing smoke. She had a sneaking suspicion that it was a lot more than they were letting on.

So, she'd gone against the look of disappointment that Annie tried to hide when she said she wanted out of Xaviers and did her best not to scare Scott and Kurt when they asked if she was still go back to doing team practices because, honestly, for now anyhow, she _did _want to join the team. She just wasn't sure on the timing, and she had even _considered _going to Canada before Chance had announced his intentions to go — and before her mother made such a shift to pure poker face that she knew it was a stupid idea for her to even consider that route. Family history considered.

But that really only left Salem Center, unless she wanted to try testing out like James had done … and that really just made the lingering decision of what to do that much bigger and harder to deal with.

So instead of dealing with it, like she should have, Elin took her seat near the back in her first period English class and waited to see how this was going to go. She didn't make it ten minutes in before she could hear the whispers across the room and the speculation on where she'd come from. But it was so _pedestrian _that she couldn't help but smirk the slightest bit.

She got all the way to her second-to-the-last class of the day before someone tried to get the real story, though there had been a few that had hung close by and clearly hoped she'd voluntarily spill.

But this one … this guy following her wasn't exactly direct in getting the information, either. He was following her from a few steps behind, and he'd been doing so between classes … making it seem like he was trying to work up the nerve to talk to her, but there wasn't enough of that sharp tang in his scent that meant he was actually anxious.

"Are you going to keep following me around all semester, or is this just a first day thing?" Elin asked without turning to look at him. "Because I'm pretty sure that would mean I should get a restraining order or something, and honestly, that's not the impression I want to make."

"For following you to class?" the tall, stocky blonde asked. "I'm just heading to class myself. And … I thought I'd introduce myself, but if you're going to call the cops just because I'm _here _… then you're probably too afraid to make friends? And I'll just find someone less spooky to talk to."

She smirked to herself and turned to face him, walking backwards. "I just don't like it when people follow me off and on all day without introducing themselves. It leaves the wrong impression. It doesn't say 'friendly' as much as it says 'stalker'."

He grinned and took a step closer, sticking with her all the way until they were in the Calculus room and found a couple of seats. "We can't have that. I'm Jacob Hall," he said finally, extending his hand. As she reached out to take it, he finished, "I play running back on the varsity football team."

She raised an eyebrow and nodded. "Elin Howlett. New to the school."

He grinned wider at her as the bell rang. The teacher cleared his throat, and Jacob seemed to realize where he was and hastily started to pick up his books. "Nice to meet you, Elin. Maybe I'll catch you after school," Jacob said. "Seeing as … this is _not _my class." He gave her a grin that read all kinds of trouble before he simply stood up and headed for the door, waving to the teacher on his way out as if it was perfectly normal for him to have gone into the wrong room.

When class let out, she barely got down the hallway before Jacob caught up to her. "You gonna stick around and watch the team practice?" he asked, grinning still.

"As much fun as sitting around watching you play fetch with your friends sounds, no." She shook her head lightly. "Have fun, though. I'm sure you'll catch it eventually."

"But how am I supposed to give you a ride home?" Jacob asked.

"No idea," she replied. "I've already got a ride, thanks." She gave him a little smile before she stepped out of the front doors to the school to find Chance in the Jeep, waiting across the street. "See you around, Jacob."

"Hey, El," Chance said as she climbed into the passenger's seat. "How'd it go?"

"I need fresh air," she said, leaning her head back on the headrest. "The nose is no fun sometimes."

"So, windows down 'til we get home," he said. "Horseback after?"

"Your call," she replied. "It's your last week here. You pick."

"Well, I haven't ridden for a while. If you swear not to laugh at me…" He grinned. "I mean, not that I think you would. Just giving you fair warning."

She rolled her head his way with a smirk. "You're so dramatic. You'll be fine."

"Hey. I _did _date the drama teacher's daughter for a while. I think it might be catching."

"Obviously," she laughed. "I'd advise talking to someone about it, but it suits you."

His grin lit up wider at that, and he shook his head, looking back at the road in silence for a good long time. "So… does this school suit you?" he asked. "Or was it horrible?"

"Honestly, I think Dad's suggestion to throw it out the window is sound."

"Gee, El, one day in and already you're doing a post-mortem."

"I'll give it a little time, but there are a _lot _more kids, and I had a sinus headache before the second class started," she said with a sigh. "It's just … very busy. In a vapid, boring way."

"No, no, don't hold back," Chance chuckled.

"But I am, sweet Summers," she replied. "So, so, much."

He grinned at her sideways for a second before he turned back to the road. "Well, like I said, you can always transfer."

"Maybe I'll just go back to LA and spend all my free time on the beach in a bikini."

"See… now I want to go to LA," he laughed. "For the beach." He paused. "You know, if I wasn't trying to get in the training."

"Like you need to worry about it," she said with a wave. "I wonder if anyone would have a problem if I spent a semester in Hawaii bumming around instead of training. Or if that would totally disqualify me from the team."

"If you did, my uncle would probably bend over backwards trying to make sure you knew the best beaches," Chance pointed out.

"I know," she said with a grin his way. "That's what I was thinking of. Go spend some time with the laid-back, big Summers."

"Well, hey, if it makes you happy, I say spend a semester on the beach. Why not?" Chance shrugged. "We've still got time before graduation."

"Maybe if we don't go back to Japan next summer, I'll find a beach instead."

"I've spent a few summers in Hawaii with Uncle Alex. We could throw a luau after I graduate."

She tried and failed to hide the smile. "There is a very good joke in there, but … you are driving, and I don't think you're up to my sense of humor anymore."

"See, now I'm going to be curious about it all the way home, and I blame you."

"I was going to ask if that's the best way to be sure you got 'lei'd'," she said with a smile clear in her voice.

He spun to face her and turned bright red, swerving before he got it back under control. "_Elin_."

She burst out laughing, though she kept the presence of mind to keep one hand on her dress to keep the wind from blowing it up. "I _told you _there was a joke there! And I even warned you that you weren't up to my humor."

"That's _not_… Come on."

"Oh, relax, Chance," she said with a wave as she got her laughter under control. "It's funny, and you know it." She rested one hand on his arm as she smiled wider. "Go on. Admit it."

"It is," he had to admit. "But seriously. That… no wonder you and Krissy are best friends. That is a _horrible _pun."

"It's a wonderful pun, and you love it," she insisted. "It's my favorite pun now. Thank you."

"You're very welcome. We are _so _lucky there weren't any cars in the other lane," he said, shaking his head to himself.

She was chuckling all over again. "I … was watching the road. A little."

"A little." He shook his head at her. "Hey, what're friends for if not for keeping each other from being roadkill?"

"I'm pretty sure there's a list," she said, smirking. "But I'm not in the loop as to what's on it."

"Yeah, well, one of them is driving to and from school in one piece," he laughed.

"Alright, I'm sorry," she said. "I won't do that anymore."

"It was funny," he promised. "Just... " He glanced her way and then started to laugh before he shook his head. "Never mind. Let's get you home and into the barn so we can see if I remember how to use a saddle right."

"Alright, you'll surprise yourself, I'm sure," she swore. "As long as you keep the saddle on the horse."

He grinned her way for a second. "No, really, jokes aside, I've missed horseback riding. Not the same in Muir Island."

"Then we'll have to do a little trail ride," she said. "They weren't a big attraction in Japan either. At least not where I was for most of the trip."

He grinned. "That sounds great. Then I can catch you up on the stuff from the Europe tour — you know, the details that weren't in the emails — before Krissy embellishes it all. And you can tell me about Japan."

"Like she'd do something like that," Elin replied, smiling crookedly again. "That doesn't sound like her _at all._"

"Oh no. Not at all," he agreed with a smirk. "But just in case — before she tells you the story? It was only a _two-story _fall. Remember that."

"Well. You can monopolize my time, since she already told me the stories when she emailed me," she replied. "Mom and I both keep a change of clothes, and she has spare boots in the barn, if you don't mind me using the tack room to change."

He grinned at that, the slightest pink on his ears. "Yeah. Alright."

When the two of them got to the Institute, she talked him into parking in the shade by the barn — since 'Dad won't mind' — and then, she rushed off to the tack room, shouting over her shoulder which horses he should pull out while she changed. She rushed, of course, pulling the jeans on first before she quickly switched the dress for a shirt with her back to the doorway — just in case anyone walked by the door.

By the time she stepped out of the tack room, he'd pulled out the horses and looked ready to hit the trail as well — he hadn't forgotten nearly as much as he claimed to. "Ready?"

"I think so," she said before she pulled the hem of her jeans down over the tops of the boots. "Did you want to ride out by the rocks or around the lake?"

"Lake sounds better," he said. "Especially while it's still somewhat warm."

"If you're feeling brave, we can leave the saddles behind and take the horses swimming …"

He grinned. "Hey, I'm about to face a whole bunch of Canadians. Gotta be brave to do that," he teased.

"Oh sure; it'll be hard not stepping on them as they trip over themselves to make you feel at home."

"We'll see," he said with a shrug. "That only lasts 'til they realize Cody's the one with optic blasts, if the pattern holds."

"Then you hand them their backsides and show them their short-sightedness. Followed by an apology tour and a donut parade."

"Oh, always. I'm just saying that's when the doormat thing ends," he said with a small smirk. "I'll time it and send you a text when it happens."

"I can help Dad collect on his bet with Mac — who _insists _his students are different. Dad said they're the same crop of morons everyone else has, by the way."

"Yeah… I mean, they'd have to be," Chance chuckled. "We spread out pretty evenly." He shook his head. "Mac means well. He was excited I said I'd be coming out there."

"I know; I heard all about it from him," Elin said.

"Well, I figure I've got to be the first at _something_," Chance teased.

"You like to be first at everything. Get real."

"If it's not horrible, I'll let you know."

"You can tell me if it's horrible too," she replied as she hopped up on her horse. "Mom's been looking for a reason to invade for years."

Chance laughed outright. "Yeah, if you ever get the 'help me' text, assume I'm drowning in maple syrup."

"Then you'll be all sticky," she said with a grin, arranging her reins.

"Easier to snag for the save," he countered as he hopped up on his own horse. "Race you to the lake?"

"Only if you want to lose," she answered.

He grinned crookedly at her before he spurred his horse on first — not declaring the race, just taking off with a loud laugh over his shoulder.

* * *

James was totally absorbed in his work when he got a call on his cell. With his gaze locked onto the little grouping of wires, he reached over to tap the button to answer it — he had a small microphone that he'd rigged up on his flannel shirt pocket so he didn't have to shout.

"Did you meet the new girl?" Scott asked.

James frowned and glanced at the phone for a moment before trying to get back to work, sure that he sounded irritated when he replied with a drawn out, "Yeah — why?"

"You need to bring her home with you," Scott told him. "She's in a similar kind of genius program, though not quite as advanced as you're running. She'll be doing classes in the afternoon here too."

James' hand slipped, and he dropped the flux in his left hand while he turned to glare at the phone. "Wait. What? What are you talking about?"

"Stark's program took in a couple of mutants over the summer with genius scores. One went to Kitty, the other stayed in New York so they could get her rolling into the program. That was about a week ago. So when you leave tonight, bring along this …" James had his head tipped to the side, frowning as he heard paper rustling on the other end of the line. "Vanessa Wailani. You can show her around once we get her enrolled properly. Charlie's already got a room set up for her," Scott told him, leaving James staring at the phone for a moment.

He didn't answer. Not right away, even when Scott had to check and see if he was still on the line. "No, I heard you … just … okay. He didn't tell me that part. We'll be there." James reached over to hang up, not waiting for any further instruction from Scott, then turned in his seat to look at Vanessa when he realized she had been quietly working across the room. "You didn't tell me you were supposed to go to the Institute in Westchester."

"You didn't look like you really wanted to talk to me yet," Vanessa said. "It's okay. You'll get used to it."

James let out a breath of a laugh and nodded before he glanced up at the clock and swore to himself. "You can stop me if I go too far over," James told her before he unplugged the soldering gun and picked up his coffee cup. "I just … have been here for a while and don't really work well with someone watching me."

"Oh," Vanessa said with wide eyes as she turned to face him. "I wasn't watching you. I was working on my own project." She tipped her head to the computer in front of her, where she was clearly coding something. "I've predicted that Mr. Stark will need a little upgrade to his operating system in the next few weeks. It's not security like you're working on? But it will make communications run easier." The blonde smiled brilliantly at him as she started to shut down her computer.

"That's not predicting; that's common sense," James corrected her, but Vanessa didn't seem bothered in the least.

"Oh, you'll see. It'll be small, but it's something that a dark-haired woman is trying to get into. I don't know her name," she said, scrunching her nose. "But she is very pretty."

James was frowning outright when a pair of bamfs appeared on his shoulders, giggling and rattling away a few very dirty jokes that James knew they had to have learned from his father and Kurt. "Seriously, guys. You're supposed to be on good behavior for new people," James told them, shaking his head, though it was clear that Vanessa was completely perplexed by the little blue demons. "She's a new student, so behave or I'll let Kurt know you've been repeating his jokes again," he told the bamf on his left, who happened to be the resident romantic. The suave little bamf wasted no time teleporting over to pick up Vanessa's hand and kiss it with an almost purred out little 'bamf' that had James wanting to cover his face for the bamf's sake, though Vanessa was obviously entertained as she lit up and bit her lip.

"Can I hug him? He's just the cutest little thing I've ever seen!"

James let out a chuckle and gestured with one arm. "Be my guest, but they won't leave you alone if you do."

Vanessa paused and tipped her head to the side, watching the little bamf for a moment. "No they won't, will they?" she said before she threw caution to the wind and snuggled into him. "We'll have some fun though, won't we, little guy?"

The bamf fell apart in giggles and kissed her cheek before he turned to look at James with a quizzical sort of "Bamf?"

"Yeah. Yeah. We should go," James agreed, and just before the bamfs teleported them, Vanessa reached out and took a hold of James' arm.

They reappeared in Scott's office, and it took Vanessa a moment to _let go _of James even though she wasn't nervous in the least at the teleporting. Scott and Charlie were there waiting for them, and the two of them took over, leaving James in a little bit of a whirlwind. He backed up, intending to slip out of the office as unnoticed as possible, but obviously, that wasn't going to happen. "We've got it covered tonight, but don't run off first thing tomorrow," Scott warned. "You have some time with me to make up."

James nodded in agreement and headed off to go to bed. It was getting harder and harder to just … be alone for five minutes.

* * *

"Seriously. When are you going to ask her out?" Charlie asked as she watched her brother throw his riding boots in the back of his car on his way out to go pick up Elin from school.

Chance looked up at Charlie and flushed bright red. "I thought you said you didn't get involved in romance drama."

"Not usually, but you seem to _need _the help," Charlie said, shaking her head at him with her arms crossed. "Honestly."

"Okay, _Mom_." He shook his head at her as he snagged the keys off of the hook.

Charlie let out a little huff of annoyance and shot him a serious glare. "Someone should give you a good kick in the pants. You _like _her. You always have."

"You're not going to bring out that stupid video of Elin from when we were babies, are you?"

"If I have to," Charlie shot back. She shook her head, and her curls bounced on her shoulders. "Honestly, Chance, I don't know what you're waiting for. You're both single. You _obviously _like her. What's the holdup?"

"I'm going to Canada!" Chance pointed out.

"So?"

"So I'm going to be in a different country all the time. It's not fair to date someone here if I'm going to have all my focus out there on training with Mac," Chance said.

"You act like she hasn't even dated long-distance before," Charlie shot back.

Chance pulled a horrible face. "Did you seriously just compare me to _Nolan_?"

"I'm just saying—"

"That's _exactly _why I'm not going to ask her to do that," Chance insisted. He shook his head hard. "I don't want to be another Nolan for her. And I remember how it was with me and Krissy. _I _hated being that far apart. It's not fair to either of us, and I…" He rubbed the back of his neck. "Even if she _did _like me, which she doesn't, I care about her too much to put her through that. I wouldn't want her thinking I was only interested in … I'm not going to have _any _parallels with him."

Charlie stared at him for a long moment before she rolled her eyes and threw up her hands. "You're an idiot."

"You tell me that for just about everything, you know that?"

"I wouldn't have to if you weren't an _idiot_."

"Gee, thanks, Charlie."

Charlie rolled her eyes again. "You're just sabotaging yourself because you're scared she doesn't like you back."

"She doesn't."

"You're an idiot."

"Yeah, we've already established that," Chance said, shaking his head as he got into his car. "Look," he said, turning her way at last. "How about this. Once I get established up in Canada, if I feel like I can honestly make the trips down here often enough to feel like I can put in the work for a _real _relationship? I'll reconsider."

Charlie stuck her finger out at him. "I'll hold you to that."


	3. Huge Blind Spot

**Chapter 3: "Huge Blind Spot"**

Krissy wanted to check up on Christian, simply because she felt a little bit responsible for him, since she and Chance had been the ones to get him out of Norway. But she was sure he wasn't settling in very well, probably because he was making it a point to avoid people.

"You know," Krissy said as she caught Christian after classes were out that day. "No one would be upset with you if you accidentally touched someone. As long as you're _trying_—"

"No," Christian said, shaking his head. "I can't control what people see if it's an accident, and I don't want people avoiding me."

"But you're avoiding them."

"Yeah, well, habit of life," Christian said.

Krissy shook her head as she walked with him. "Well, _I'm _not avoiding you."

"That's because you don't seem to have any sense," Christian pointed out with almost a smirk her way.

"I _happen _to believe the best of people."

Christian shook his head at that, the smirk tugging a little harder at his expression. "You must know better people than I do."

"Well, yeah, I grew up with the X-Men," she said with a smile, then turned a bit more serious as she tipped her head to watch him. "But that also means I grew up with some X-Men baddies, you know. I know what evil is."

"Yeah, and I worked for it for two years," Christian said before he let out a breath and shook his head. "Sorry, I'd just rather be cautious than caught."

Krissy let her shoulders drop. "Yeah, I have a best friend with a similar outlook," she said before she shook off the thought and seized him by his gloved hand. "At least come outside for a while."

"It's hot out there, and I'm wearing gloves."

"I'm wearing fur. And you don't hear _me _complaining. Besides, we can go somewhere there aren't as many people, and you can push up your sleeves."

"I really shouldn't do that."

"I told you, it's fine—"

"Krissy." Christian pulled them both to a stop as soon as they hit the lawn and held out his hand to Krissy, watching her expression carefully. "This," he said, "is what happens when I touch someone."

Krissy stared at his hand for a long moment before, tentatively, she slipped her hand into his — and gasped at the flood of color that filled her vision and senses as soon as she did.

"So, what are you seeing?" she heard Christian ask, almost outside her own consciousness. She could hear him, but she couldn't tell where his voice was coming from, and she couldn't see him anywhere in the vast meadow of flowers.

"Don't you know?" Krissy asked, blinking at all of the flowers as a light breeze started up around her.

"I'm hoping it's something nice, but I can't control it yet," Christian explained. "So if I accidentally sent you into the bottom of the ocean surrounded by sharks or something, let me know."

Krissy was just shaking her head and about to tell him that it _was _something nice, but then she felt something wet pass over her feet and looked down to see that water was rushing in all around her. She sank fast, bubbles rising from her mouth as dark shapes started to flit in and out of her peripheral vision. Even though she _knew _it was all an illusion, because Christian had told her ahead of time, it felt _too _real. The sensation of water in her lungs and the pressure in her ears….

She yanked her hand out of Christian's, and immediately, she was back outside on the lawn in Westchester, gasping in lungfuls of air before she broke into wracking coughs. It still felt like she had been drowning.

Christian was right beside her, wide-eyed and apologizing over and over again, looking scared to touch her again. "I'm sorry. I told you — I can't control it yet," he said when she was done coughing, and he sounded positively miserable about it.

"It's okay, it's okay," she gasped out, trying to get her reaction back under control. "Really. It's fine."

"I just got thinking about sharks—"

"It's fine. I knew it wasn't real," she promised. She pushed herself up so that she was sitting instead of on her hands and knees and frowned at the totally miserable expression on his face. "Hey, no, it's okay," she said quickly. "It's not your fault. That's the whole point of the school — to show you how to control it." Krissy gave him an encouraging smile as she put a hand on his shoulder. "Really, it's okay. Everybody has problems when they start out. I kept teleporting into weird places, like, whenever I'd sneeze."

"But you didn't have it turned _on _all the time," Christian pointed out, staring at his hands in front of him before he slipped on his pair of gloves.

"You could talk to my friend Charlie," Krissy offered. "She's an empath, and she spend a long time _not _being able to shut out other people's feelings."

"Yeah, and Cyclops gave me the welcome speech, I know," Christian said as he leaned back against the wall of the school. "I just wanted to explain: that's why I'm avoiding people. So _that _doesn't happen."

"Maybe… you just need a little more practice."

Christian's eyebrows shot up, and he gave her a sort of appraising look. "What, do all that again? Are you insane?"

"I'm an X-Man. I think I can survive a trip or two to fantasyland, and you clearly need someone to help you out, so… why not?"

A slow smile started up at the corner of Christian's mouth, and he very slowly nodded. "You know," he said, "that's not a bad idea."

* * *

Jacob Hall was a solidly good flirt, for his age. He had made a show out of catching Elin's attention every chance he got. And he was shameless about it, too. Between classes, after school if he could catch her — he even made a point to invite her to the football game before the first week was out, but that was Friday night, and Elin already had made plans with the rest of the crew at Xaviers to send Chance off.

The group of friends had thrown together a bonfire down by the lake, complete with plenty of music and food — and a few reminders to Chance from both of his parents that he needed to stay in contact, keep his comm on, the whole nine yards.

"Geez, you'd think I was going off to a warzone," Chance said with a grin as he sat down next to Elin with a can of Coke.

"Same thing to them," she said. "Foreign country. Suspected hostiles …"

"Hey, I've been through the paranoia sims. I know how to deal with that," Chance said with a smirk as he bumped her shoulder.

"I guess we'll see, won't we?" she replied with a matching smirk.

"If you get the 'SOS' message, bring backup," he teased.

"But that might go against my family's motto," she laughed.

"Yeah, but then who will save me from the moose?"

"Oh, not that motto. The 'I'll do it myself' motto. So … you know. Moose burgers out of Boris or whatever you named him."

Chance laughed at that. "Yes. I definitely will be concerned about naming the moose attacking me. That's high on my priority list."

"See, I thought it was your not-so-trusty, shifty moose-steed," she said.

"Oh please. Like I need one of those when I've got a ship and Mac's letting me into his suit workshop."

"Chance," Elin said, sounding a little more serious, "should I tell your dad that Mac is letting you into his pants?"

Chance blinked at her for a moment before he simply burst out laughing, holding onto her shoulder for support. "That… explains… the panic… button," he managed to get out between laughs.

"They _do _want to be sure you're not compromised," Elin reasoned with a little smile.

"This after you accused me and Krissy of becoming swingers. No wonder Dad's so uptight," Chance laughed.

"What was I supposed to think when she's suggesting you ask someone out?" Elin challenged.

"I swear, I had no idea she didn't tell you," Chance said, holding up one hand with the other over his heart.

"Don't put it all on her. _You_ didn't mention it either," Elin pointed out, then waved a hand. "But it's _fine_. I'm sure you told the people that you wanted to know. And I knew it was going to be hard to communicate with everyone anyhow. Not a big deal."

"Well, like she said, it wasn't one big 'we're breaking up' moment. We just… went from dating to friends. I couldn't have told you when it happened either. It just did?" He rubbed the back of his neck. "I dunno."

"Chance, you're making a big deal out of it, and it really doesn't matter."

"Yeah, but I…" Chance let out a breath. "Never mind. I just… yeah. Didn't want you to think I was ignoring you."

Elin looked like she was going to say something but shook her head before she bumped his shoulder. "You were, but you can stop the Sad Summers thing."

"I'm doing the Sad Summers thing?" he asked, smiling her way.

"You _were _… now you're forcing a smile," she said with a crooked smirk.

"Well, I…" Chance cleared his throat. "I care a lot about, you know… don't want you to think I'm just…" He shook his head. "I'm just going to stop talking now."

She reached over to pinch his leg. "Stop that."

"I just said I would?"

"No … the Sad ... " she let out a sigh and got up to pick up one of the bags across the way and then returned to hand it to him. "I'm guessing you just need a s'more or something. Restore the 'sweet' to the Sweet Summers."

He couldn't help but grin at her and nodded. "Yeah. That'll probably help," he agreed. "And, you know, nerves. I'll be better next weekend, probably."

"Nerves? You're going by Uncle Mac," she said, sitting down in front of the log he was on.

"That's not…" He waved a hand. "Never mind. Do these bags have Reeses in them?"

"Of course," she said, though she was digging through to pick out just the right marshmallow.

"Then let's just… make some s'mores and enjoy my last night before I go off to war with the Great Canadian North," Chance said.

"Easier to roast from down here," she said before she tipped her head back to look up at him. "Or … you know. If you're afraid of a little dirt and leaves, you should know you won't make it a week up there."

He shook his head at her as he slid off the log to sit next to her. "Yeah, no. I can handle some dirt," he said before he made a space next to her and concentrated on getting the marshmallow just the right brown color.

And across from the two of them, on the other side of the fire, the Lee twins were _dying_.

_It's like watching a train wreck, _Melody projected to her sister.

_In slow motion, _Celeste agreed.

_Seriously. You don't even have to be telepathic to know what's going on here!_

_And yet they are so. So blind._

_SO blind, _Melody repeated, nodding her head fervently. _Should we give them a little push?_

_I don't know. We can't exactly read Elin._

_Yeah, but come on. We can read Charlie, and Charlie is _dying _just as much as we are, _Melody pointed out. _And she actually _does _know what Elin's feeling._

_Yeah, but remember the last time we tried to get involved?_

_Yeah, but this is a train. Wreck. _

Celeste let out a sigh and tipped her head back. _I don't know, _she projected to her sister. _She didn't even know he was single until this week. It's only been a few days. We can give them time._

_Okay, but if this goes on for much longer, I'm going to have to start throwing things at them._

_You and me both, sister dear. _

James came down to the bonfire a little late, looking almost apologetic as he took a seat away from most of the group. "So you're really going to run away and join the circus?" James asked, looking at Chance before he turned to the twins. "How's the hive mind going tonight?"

The twins glanced at each other and then shrugged in unison. "We were just talking about how awful the start of the semester is."

"You missed running, didn't you?" James almost sang out.

"Hey, Grampa Wolvie didn't say we could _never _use our powers," Melody pointed out.

"And it was a _private _conversation," Celeste added.

"Uh-huh," James said, tipping his chin up. "And all I saw was the fact that you two spent an entire summer doing this crap and are totally out of practice in self-control. Have fun in combat."

Melody rolled her eyes at him. "We're allowed to _talk _to each other."

"We're not _interfering _with anyone."

"Alright, but you know … when you let your eyes dart from one person to the next as you 'discuss' them, it's a dead giveaway."

"Oh, like you and your siblings don't whisper too low for the others to hear when you have snarky commentary," Celeste shot back.

"Not anything we wouldn't say to your face," Elin defended. "And would you prefer we just … blurted it out for the whole world to hear?"

"We can. Easily," James agreed.

"That's _why _we have been keeping it quiet, duh!" Melody said.

"It's discreet," Celeste agreed.

"So we can die in peace."

"And misery."

"Over the stupid."

"So much stupid."

"You are going to be so disappointed," Vanessa said suddenly. "For so, so long. I'm sorry to say."

Both of the twins turned toward Vanessa in surprise. "Sorry," Melody said. "I don't think we've met?"

"Right. Sorry," James said before he gestured to the bubbly blonde. "This is Vanessa. She's helping me at Stark's carnival. And she'll be going to school — or the essential classes otherwise." He took a deep breath and simply rattled off everyone's names as he went around the circle.

Melody grinned James' way. "She's cute, Uncle James."

James narrowed his eyes at her for a moment. "You're a troublemaker."

"I'm just _saying_," Melody sang to him. "I don't even have to read her mind to know she's cute!"

"You want to ask her out?" James said. "You'd be cute together."

Melody shrugged. "Well, Vanessa?"

Vanessa grinned at her and slowly shook her head. "No … you have enough handsome admirers right now. And my dance card will be full later this year."

"Confident. Hold on to that if you're helping James," Chance smirked.

"Precognitive," James corrected.

"Wait, wait, and she was just saying we'd be disappointed?" Celeste cut in before she spun to face Vanessa and point a finger her way. "No! No, that's just… that's so not right! There is a _train wreck_!"

Vanessa tipped her head to the side. "I just … don't really see it any other way … at least for now. There would have to be a drastic change. A bold declaration would do it."

"Oh, so she's like Uncle Billy," Melody said. "Are you going to make harbinger visits too?"

She grinned and shook her head. "I really only see the smaller things. Not world ending things. Though I did hear about him."

"He likes to show up every once in a while and tell our dad not to declare war on people," Melody giggled.

"And annoy our grandparents," Celeste agreed with a giggle of her own.

"I try to focus on the positive," Vanessa said.

"I think that's a good life creed," Chance said with a smile.

"Yes, well … it's good to share good news … and sometimes it's much more fun to sit back and watch it."

"But so painful," Melody argued.

"And so, so stupid," Celeste agreed.

"You two need to stop," James said seriously. "It's not gonna happen."

Both of the girls turned to face him and then tipped their heads back and groaned. "Fine," Melody said.

"They're crazy," Elin whispered to Chance before she stole his perfect marshmallow.

"Hey. I worked hard on that." Chance frowned her way.

She grinned up at him. "Yes. And I thank you kindly."

Chance shook his head at her as he dug for another marshmallow. "Whose farewell party is this, anyway?"

"Do you want me to roast one for you?" she offered.

"Nah, I can get it. But c'mon, El."

"I promise I won't do it again. I just had to for the look on your face, really," she swore.

He shook his head at her. "You know, El…" He trailed off and then popped the marshmallow in his mouth rather than roast it and stuck another one on the stick instead.

"You lose your train of thought?" she asked before she handed him a peanut butter cup.

"Just decided not to put my foot in my mouth and risk another marshmallow kidnapping."

"Oh. Ticked you off then, okay," she said, nodding.

He shook his head at her and reached over to squeeze her arm. "Never. Just in a weird mood."

"If you keep it up, I'll have to push you in the lake." She moved over to bump his shoulder. "I thought you weren't going to freak out about this Canada thing, big guy."

He let out a little laugh. "It's not the Canada thing that has me freaked; it's just… there are people here that I'll miss."

"Pretty sure no one's leaving at this point," she replied. "It's safe to relax."

"Yeah, I know," he said, leaning back against the log a bit. "Must be something about apples falling from trees," he said with a small smirk her way.

"You sure you want to do the campfire roast?" she asked. "Because the teasing hasn't even started yet. Movie is always an option. Pretty sure it's Charlie's turn to pick."

"No, I want to spend time with everyone," Chance said. "Not just watching a screen. But I really appreciate the offer."

"Doing my share to keep you from having a cardiac episode too young," Elin said.

"And I appreciate it greatly," Chance said, bumping her shoulder with a smile.

She turned his way with a troublemaking smirk then once again snatched the marshmallow off of his stick — though before he could argue, she was building up the s'more. "Come on. Split it."

He just started laughing at her and shook his head. "That's the only way I'm going to get a s'more at this rate, isn't it?"

"No, no, I'm done after this, I swear," she laughed.

"Oh yeah, that's what you said the last time," he laughed, not seeing the way the Lee twins across the fire had literally fallen over to lie on their backs on the ground to cover their faces with their hands. "Gimmie. I'll take half."

She broke it in half and weighed it out before carefully handing over the bigger half. "I _almost _wanted to make you wear it. But then you'd have been burned … and I'd have questions to deal with ..."

"Yeah, I don't want to get burned, thanks," Chance said, smirking her way.

"No way that would be an issue," she said before she whipped a marshmallow at Krissy's head. "Oops. I slipped."

Krissy stuck her tongue out at Elin from where she was helping Kade make his own s'more. "You so did not."

"I did. And I will do it again," Elin said, waited a heartbeat and lobbed another her way. "Call it a tax for keeping secrets while yelling at me to share."

Krissy turned bright purple and then lobbed a wrapped chocolate bar at Elin… Which really only served to turn the bonfire into a marshmallow fight — not that anyone was going to complain about it.


	4. What Do You Want?

**Chapter 4: "What Do You Want?"**

Chance landed the _Shanghai _close by campus and couldn't help but grin to himself as he got to the school and saw that the Hudsons were there.

"So — does everyone get the full welcoming committee?" Chance couldn't help but grin.

"Mostly," Heather said as she pulled him into a warm hug. "I don't give them hugs though."

Chance grinned as he returned the hug and then made sure to do the same for Oliver and Mac. "You don't mind that I brought my ship? Not exactly a car I can park somewhere, but she takes care of herself."

"No, no," Heather said as she pulled him toward the doors. "You need to be able to get back to Westchester. We got the memos from your dad. In triplicate."

"Yeah, I got them too," Chance said, grinning as he allowed himself to be pulled inside. "Along with plenty of accusations from the non-Summers in the family that I'm gonna kill him," he added with a crooked smirk.

"We don't want him to worry," Heather promised. "So you just check in as often as he needs it."

"Hopefully, he'll cool off after I've been here a while," Chance said with a shrug before he looked toward Mac. "So — most important stuff first, right? Place to sleep, place to fly…"

"You sure that's the order you want to go in?" Mac asked just before Heather reached out and smacked him. "Or .. yes. Your room first is fine."

Chance grinned. "Yeah, my mom did the same thing to me."

"Oliver can show you around once you see your room — not too far from the staff," Mac swore.

Chance nodded and grinned at Oliver. "Kinda weird not to be the one doing the tours. This is my job back home."

"Really, you'll be fine," Oliver said. "They're just all … nervous because of the whole _totally subtle _feud."

Chance shrugged. "Yeah, well. I'm not here to cross the Capulet lines or anything. I just want to fly and go to school where my last name doesn't make people think I get special treatment."

"Then hopefully, you'll like it," Oliver told him as he pushed open Chance's door. "So … here it is. I know it's not as fancy as what the kids have in Westchester but … you can do whatever you want to it."

Chance grinned. "Thanks, Oliver. It's great, really."

* * *

The first thing Monday morning, things started to get a little strange: the kids in school were looking at Elin strangely — little smirks all around. She had no idea what it was all about, though. Not until one of the cheerleaders in her biology class clued her in.

Jacob had been looking for her at the game, asking around for her — describing her as 'the gorgeous little new girl'. He was quick to find her at lunch hour, and when he did, he wasted absolutely no time in asking her out — after the game on Friday, of course — to spend some time with a few of his friends on the team, grab a pizza, that kind of thing. "You know. And maybe get to know a few of your classmates?"

She narrowed her eyes slightly for just an instant before she tightened the corners of her mouth and shrugged one shoulder. "That could be fun," she agreed, and before she could really take in the troublemaking sparkle in his bright green eyes, he shot forward and stole a kiss.

"For luck," he said, grinning wider before he hopped up and headed out.

When she got home, she was still a little surprised by how that had gone, and when Krissy asked her what was wrong …

"Apparently, I have a date on Friday," Elin said, wrinkling up her nose just slightly.

"Really?" Krissy looked downright surprised as she tipped her head to the side.

"Yeah …" Elin's eyebrow raised the tiniest bit as she held her breath and tried not to smile too widely.

"What's he look like? I mean, I haven't even _met _him…"

"He's … tall, pretty well-built for his age … blonde hair. Green eyes... "

"Do you like him, then?" Krissy asked, still with her head tipped to the side.

"I don't _know _if I like him," Elin countered. "But he's not bad-looking. And he's a pretty good flirt."

"Oh, see. It's when you say stuff like _that _… I start to wonder why the world is so unfair and why I can't go to school with you," Krissy teased. "A whole new group of cute boys — and none of them know you or know that you can kick their butts six ways to Sunday …"

"It is kind of nice when no one knows who I am," Elin agreed. "But even if I'd gone to one of the mutant schools, it would have been the same as here — Wolverine's daughter. Which is not _bad_," she clarified. "It just … makes my dating options a lot smaller."

"You are under the false impression that the locals aren't going to shy away once they find out who your father — _or mother _— is," Krissy pointed out. "And seeing as you look _so _much like her, it's really just a matter of time."

"Shut up," Elin said, smirking to herself as she started up the water for tea.

Krissy scrunched her nose up. "What's with the tea? I thought your mother taught you to drink coffee like an actual human being?"

Elin let out a little laugh. "Yeah, but … we drank nothing but green tea and matcha while we were in Japan." She shrugged as she put the tea bag in her cup. "I guess it grew on me."

"That's not natural," Krissy said, shaking her head at her.

"It so is. It's tea leaves," Elin defended.

"Bugs live on it." Krissy scrunched up her nose. "Think of their little bug's life affairs …"

Elin smiled crookedly at her and then took the couple of steps closer to give her a hug. "You are your mother's daughter. And I missed you _terribly, _you ridiculous Elf, you_._"

* * *

It was the first day of Jamie's last year in this place, and while she had certainly been working hard on her mentor's behalf, she was looking forward to being able to get out from underneath Guardian's watchful gaze. It wasn't that Mac or Heather Hudson had been able to _stop _anything — it was that it would be easier when she was able to take her place with Hydra.

It had been two years of pretending to be a lost little girl, scared of Viper, looking to be _saved_. These heroes loved a good redemption story, and for all they knew, she was it. She studied hard, she had never once stepped a foot out of line. She was eager to please. She made all A's. She was going to go to college. She was doing everything they expected her to do.

But she was also working with the contacts she had made while she was there. She was _deeply _enmeshed in the Canadian program, the government contacts who were interested in twisting people to their whims. She was perfect for it, really. She could tell what made people tick with just the little psychic power that she had, and with a little _boost_, she could tell them their secret fears, their greatest weaknesses…

She had learned how to twist people from Viper, and these Department H people had taught her how to manipulate her own powers. She knew the exact ways to get kids hooked on boost and the best kinds of kids that would come crawling to her if she played her cards right.

All of this was easy to do under the radar. But Viper had given her a challenge for her senior year to turn a _good_ man.

It was a brand new year, which meant new prospects, and Jamie was just looking over all of them when she saw a boy that was _exactly _the kind of challenge she needed.

After all, he looked just like his father; there was no mistaking it.

Jamie was sure that he wouldn't recognize her. She'd dyed her hair recently, gained a few inches, gone up a couple cup sizes… The name would give her away eventually, but for two years, she had been a model student. She was a redemption case. She was sure she could win his trust.

"Are you new?" Jamie asked as she sat down across from the boy, who was already reading over some of the homework the teachers had assigned.

He looked up at her in surprise and raised his eyebrows. "Yeah, more or less. Chance Summers."

"Jamie Washington," she said, taking his hand to shake.

Chance tipped his head to the side. "You been here long?" he asked.

"For several years, yeah," she said. "So I could show you around if you want."

"I already got the tour, but I appreciate the offer," Chance said.

Jamie smiled sweetly. "Well, if you ever get lost, you're welcome to find me," she said.

"You do this for all the new kids, or…"

"Just the cute ones," she said with a little smirk.

Chance paused, and his eyebrows shot up. "O-kay."

She grinned at him. "What's your next class?"

"History."

"Great. That's by my literature class," Jamie said.

Chance frowned as he regarded her. "Listen, Jamie… that's really sweet and all, but I literally just got here. I got the tour from the Hudsons, and I'm not really looking for … I got it, alright?"

Jamie smiled. "I wasn't trying anything. I just thought we could walk together." She took a deep breath and decided to pull out the Gerry card, since it was going to come up sooner or later, and she knew if he figured out who she was from someone other than her, the chances of winning his trust would be harder. She bit her lip and then let out a sigh. "It's fine. I understand. No one trusts me since what happened with Gerry Drew, so I'd avoid me too."

She saw the recognition click just behind his expression as he frowned at her. "You're _that _Jamie."

"I dyed my hair," she explained, fluffing her blonde hair a bit. "I wanted a new look for the new me… sounds dumb, I know, but I even _looked _like Viper. Dark hair and all that."

Chance was watching her with a little frown. "It's not that dumb," he said at last, slowly. He took a deep breath. "It's not… I really just want to get to combat class at the end of the day and see what the competition is like. I already memorized the layout over the weekend." He tipped his head to the side. "You're … huh."

"Yeah, I get that a lot," Jamie said, pushing her lips out in a pout, but since the next class change was approaching, now that she had him in a good conversation, he was walking with her anyway toward their classes. "I haven't seen her since what happened. I've been trying to turn my life around. But when the X-Men and the leader of Alpha Flight both point the finger at you in front of everyone for being Viper's little plaything, you get used to…" She gestured at his expression. "That."

"Gerry's one of my oldest and best friends," Chance said.

"And I'm glad he was able to get away from her," Jamie said — which was the truth. He didn't have to know that it was because she wanted Viper's full attention and didn't want to play second fiddle. "And I never contacted him again. I didn't want any of that to happen."

"Yeah, I heard the story, Jamie," Chance said with a frown her way.

She let out a sigh. "Here I was hoping to introduce myself to a cute boy, but... " She pouted again as they rounded the corner to where his class was. "Well, if you'd found out secondhand, you'd never speak to me again."

"Yeah, no kidding."

Jamie watched him for a moment and then nodded. She had time; she didn't have to push. "I hope I'll see you around."

"Small school — you probably will," he said before he ducked into history.

Jamie watched him for a moment before she headed to her own class, biting her lip with a little smile. Yes, this was a challenge she could sink her teeth into.

* * *

Sying watched the conversation going on across the table from him and was surprised at how much it bothered him.

It had been one thing when it was Chance. At least then it had been two of his best friends in the world making each other happy.

This… this was Krissy sitting with this guy that had literally come out of nowhere in Europe — just _dropped out of the sky _to show up and start flirting with Krissy under the guise of 'practicing' his powers. And she was going along with the whole thing, letting him hold her hand every once in a while to see if he could touch her without making her hallucinate — and then giggling when he would show her something like the view of a Norwegian mountain.

He had thought this had gone away. The jealousy. He'd _tried _with Krissy, and it hadn't worked, and he'd gone to space and dated Penny and gone to Russia and…

Charlie sat down next to him with a little smile, and he absently rested his hand on her arm, but she shook her head lightly. "No."

That got his attention fast, and he turned her way with both eyebrows raised. "What?"

"No," she said, still with a polite smile. "I know we're not even serious, Sying, but… no." She tipped her head toward where Krissy and Christian were engrossed in conversation. "I don't mind having a little fun, but I'm not going to date anyone who's in love with someone else."

"Charlie…"

"Ask her out, Sying," Charlie said simply.

"That's really weird to hear from the girl I've been going to ice cream with," Sying pointed out.

Charlie smiled at him and leaned over to kiss his cheek. "Sying, I like you. I do. I like doing things with you. But I'm not going to let anyone lie to themselves and use me to do it." She squeezed his hand. "If you decide you're not in love, if things don't work out, I'd love to go out with you again, but I don't do that if it's not equal on both sides."

Sying stared at her. "Charlie… you're amazing, you know that?"

"Oh, I'm well aware," she said, though Sying couldn't help but notice that her smile was sadder than usual.

He leaned over and kissed her cheek. "You deserve a medal. You're just…"

"I know." She squeezed his hand again. "Go ahead. Be happy — or learn something. Either way, you need to act on this."

Sying shook his head at her. "Same to you, Charlie."

She smiled lightly. "You know me. I'm happy when everyone else is happy."

* * *

James had finally gotten used to working in 'his' lab while Vanessa worked around him, mostly just keeping him well-supplied in the tiny micro-circuits and solder that he needed while he absently fiddled with one project after another. Unless, of course, he was working on the laptop, usually with a touch of a scowl as he tapped out code here and there. The one place she didn't follow him was when he'd stop working occasionally and head down to the gym a few floors down.

She'd only gone once — and he'd told her that if she wasn't going to work out,he really, _really _didn't appreciate the audience. But that only really happened when he'd get frustrated with something. His little means of dealing with getting stopped on something particularly troublesome.

Vanessa wasn't without her quirks either. She regularly refused to take part in one shenanigan or another if she thought there was a high probability of getting caught. At least that was how James saw it. She said she was seeing what was to come.

"No, that's one possible outcome," James argued. "And since you told me what it is … I can take steps to keep from getting caught. So. Thanks for that." With a little grin, he disappeared down the hall to head up to Tony's lab and screw with him.

Because honestly, if they weren't making things … that's all the two inventors were doing. Screwing with each other. Which was all fun and games as long as nothing blew up at an inopportune time.

The exploding coffee pot in Stark's lab happened at a particularly relaxed moment for the head of the company … and it startled him backward hard enough that he ended up on the ground. And scared the crap out of Pepper. Which was really where the problem was.

But James was not the only one in the prank war with Tony. And when it came down to it, that was the _only _reason that Tony couldn't pin it on him. Of course, the fact that Vanessa did not believe in narcing on anyone helped … though she simply could _not _understand why on earth James would pull something like that.

Until more or less the same prank went down in his lab. And when it did, James headed up to Tony to steal a cup of coffee and tap him on the shoulder. "Yeah … I know that was you. Nice distance though."

"You do not." Tony shot back automatically, though he seemed to forget momentarily who he was dealing with until James tapped the side of his nose.

"Send an intern next time," James said with a little wave, though that only got Tony thinking it over — the rules of engagement, that is.

Which was how the whole prank war shifted from the two of them in particular … to the two of them trying to convince their interns to do the dirty work on each other.

"I am not doing that to Mr. Stark's interns," Vanessa argued with a bright blush to her cheeks. "It's just … "

"It's just web fluid," James pointed out. "It dissolves. They'll be fine."

"And if Mr. Stark is caught up in it?"

"Then … they'll learn new and colorful ways to swear," James replied, his back to her as he worked on the comms again.

"You _know _you're going to get caught — why do you even bother with these stupid pranks?" she asked, totally missing his point.

James set down his work and drew in a deep breath as he turned to face her. "Do you ever do anything without trying to see ahead if it's the right move?" he asked. "Ever?"

"Why would I do that when I can know what's coming?"

"I don't know. Maybe for the fun of it? Takes all the joy out if you know what's coming for something like this." James gave her a crooked sort of smile. "Besides, getting caught isn't always a terrible thing. Most of the time, it's a blast."

She bit her lip, weighing it out as she looked at the canister full of web fluid.

"I promise: It's fun, and you won't get fired." He held up one hand. "And no. Don't look ahead. Just … trust me."

She glanced up at him and let out a breath. "Alright then … what are you using for a trigger?"

* * *

Chance was still in a great mood.

It had been a good day. He had spent most of the morning in Mac's workshop looking over the specs of the suit, and after that, he'd gone to a solid combat class where Mac had more or less invited him to wipe the floor with a couple overly smug kids.

They were twins, Mandy and Mark, and he absolutely recognized them as the brother and sister duo that he'd met on his first mission with the team. And while both of them were powerful — she was a pyro and he was basically the guy version of Miss Marvel, but way less cool and creative about using his powers — they just weren't as fast on their feet as Chance was.

He'd all but tied Mark into a knot and pinned Mandy to the floor, and Mac had told them both that they still had a lot to learn before they went from the junior team to the bigger team.

"Wow. This … is a huge difference to how they've been trained in the past," Mac said with a grin. "Really shows who's been training you."

"Since I was five," Chance said with a grin that wouldn't stop at the compliment.

Mac shook his head with an appreciative grin. "I would pay solid money to have seen a class full of anklebiters with him. Holy crap."

"Hey, you can probably see one now. Kade and Malin are still that small," Chance pointed out.

"No," Mac said, grinning wider. "That's … wow." He started to laugh as he clapped a hand on Chance's shoulder. "Seriously. You're worlds ahead of our junior team. Just as is. I wasn't really expecting that … though I guess I should have."

Chance rubbed the back of his neck but couldn't help grinning. "Well… the test to get on the junior squad were really tough," he said as diplomatically as he could.

"You're underselling yourself," Mac said, shaking his head. "I mean … you're already an X-Man. That's … yeah. Talk about prepared."

"Hey, you said I could come and wipe the floor with some powered people and remind them powers don't make the person," Chance said with a smile.

"And you did just that," Mac said, grinning. "But if you want to stick around, we might need to talk about that suit sooner than later. You're beyond junior team, and I wouldn't want to have you stuck getting them up to snuff."

Chance looked downright surprised as he turned Mac's way. "Wait. Really?"

"Oh yeah," Mac replied. "You'd be doing this kind of practice until they could catch up. I think you'd be stretching yourself a little better with the big boys."

Chance couldn't stop grinning as he considered it, his eyes lighting up. "Well… yeah!" he said at last, sounding totally blown away. "What… what do I need to do? How would that even work?"

"We'll figure it all out," Mac promised. "But I'm the one with final say on the senior team. I think you'll do fine."

Chance was clearly stunned as he grinned Mac's way. "That… thanks. Really."

"No problem," Mac said, still smiling at him. "You did all the hard stuff." He pulled Chance over, his arm around the boy's shoulders. "The only thing you'll have to do is talk to the business side of things. Our team is paid, so there will be some forms to fill out to be legal — and that might take a little while before you get started. Passport stuff, technically immigration, work visa .. but it's not a step to stay." He was laughing low at that. "Yeah … your dad would kill me for that one."

"Yeah, he so would," Chance couldn't help but laugh.

Mac was still grinning. "Still. We try to stay on the up and up. With our connections, the work visa won't be hard to come by, and I'll sign the paperwork myself saying that no one I've interviewed that's a citizen meets criteria. You'll be fine."

Chance couldn't stop grinning, though he did have to hold up a hand and tip his head Mac's way. "It wouldn't be permanent. You know that, right? I'm just… trying to prove I can do this on my own. That I can earn it myself." He tipped his head. "I'm going to be an X-Man. But it would be _amazing _to be on another team first. And I'd be _beyond _honored to work with you guys. Really. Just so we're clear."

"Oh, I know. Believe me, I've gotten it beaten into my head over the years: much more desirable team to be a part of. But that doesn't mean you can't learn how we do things — and maybe open up the lines of communication better between the teams."

Chance nodded and went back to his huge grin. "It wasn't a knock on you," he promised, then took a deep breath. "But I'm in. It's… it's exactly what I want to do here. Stretch. Learn. Grow. Prove myself."

"Excellent. Not like you'll be the first X-Man to be on more than one team, eh?" Mac grinned. "Just the first non-powered one."

"I've been reliably told that I like to be first, so…" Chance grinned. "Just let me know who I need to talk to."

"Come on," Mac said. "I'll take you down to the office for all the right forms."


	5. Asked Too Late

**Chapter 5: "Asked Too Late"**

Sying frowned as he watched Krissy and Christian after class. He was _trying _to find an opening to ask her out. The fall formal was still a ways out, but… he figured if he got the jump on it now and asked her to something big and fun and not _too _intimidating… after all, it was also his birthday, and it had always been a chance for their group of friends to get together.

But she was almost always with Christian, working on his powers with him. He wasn't sure if it was just because she and Chance had been the ones to rescue him from Norway or what it was, but it seemed like Christian was monopolizing all her time.

But he finally managed to snag her as they headed to combat — since Christian wasn't in that class with them.

"Hey, Krissy, do you have a minute?"

She spun around to face him with a grin and threaded her arm through his. "Hey, Sying."

He swallowed hard and then bit his lip. "Are you … going with anyone to the fall formal?"

Krissy went totally still as she stared at him for a moment, turning fully his way with her lips slightly parted. "Oh. Sying…" She looked honestly upset. "I … I just told Christian I'd go with him."

"You did?"

"He … he wanted to know what the big deal was about the Halloween party, and … and one thing led to another and…"

Sying swallowed and shook his head. "It's fine."

"If I'd known you were going to—"

"It's fine, Krissy," Sying said. He gave her a short smile. "What are you two going as?"

"Sying-"

"Krissy, I was too slow, it's fine," Sying said.

Krissy frowned at him and then reached out to grab his hand. "I just… he spent two years in a weapons program, Sying. I want him to have a good time."

Sying let out a breath. "No, I think ... you've always had a big heart, Krissy. I'm glad you've got someone to look out for," he said evenly before they ducked into combat.

* * *

"Ellie," Krissy said as she appeared in Elin's room the second Elin had returned from her Friday classes. "_Ellie_. I need your help. I'm in _crisis_."

"What happened?" Elin asked as she temporarily abandoned her books.

"Sying asked me to the fall formal," she explained in a rush, her eyes wide and her tail moving erratically behind her.

"What's wrong with that? I thought you liked him," Elin said with a frown.

"I already told Christian I'd go with him!" Krissy said.

"Oh." She frowned and dropped onto her bed with her hands folded in her lap.

Krissy started to pace. "It was, like, within _hours _of Christian asking me, Ellie, and if I'd known…"

Elin took a deep breath and nodded her head a couple of times. "Okay. But … you're going as friends with him, right? Why not ask Sying to ice cream before then?"

Krissy bit her lip; her tail was moving quickly behind her, so she grabbed it and tugged on it anxiously. "I... "

"You _like _the new guy," Elin said with a falsely surprised expression.

Krissy dropped into the seat next to Elin. "I think I do," she admitted. "He's nice. We spend a lot of time together, and I really think he could use someone, and I don't want to do that to him - you know, flirt and drop him — when he's been alone for years and I just…"

"Are you the only one that talks to him now?" Elin asked.

Krissy twisted her hands in her lap. "Well, sort of. We spend all our time together, so he doesn't really _know _anyone else and I — I—"

"You gotta go slower, Krissy," Elin said.

"I know," Krissy said. She looked up at Eln with wide eyes. "He can hardly even hold my hand, Ellie. It's not like it was with Chance."

"I don't mean physically," Elin clarified. "I don't want you throwing your all into it right out of the gate. Don't you think he should work for it a little bit? Even if you can't do more than hold his hand. You're worth more than that."

Krissy's shoulders slumped, and her eyes were bright as she hugged Elin and rested her head on her friend's shoulder. "You say the nicest things, Ellie."

"It's nothing you don't already know, you silly Elf. You just get so wrapped up in everything ... " Elin gave her another squeeze. "You _gotta _slow down."

"I really should," Krissy admitted, shaking her head. "And _Sying…" _She leaned forward, her eyes bright. "You should have seen his face. I … I… I hurt him, and I don't want to do that, because you're right; I _do _like him. I really do. I thought I was going to date him when I got back, but I just… I got so … caught up…"

"Date. Around. Just do stuff with him and see how it goes. There is nothing that says you can't _date _more than one boy," Elin pointed out. "Just don't keep them both as boyfriends."

"No, I would never do that," Krissy said, her eyes wide. "To either of them. Ever."

Elin smirked at her and shook her head. "Who knows … maybe you have more admirers to fight over you."

"Oh, I hope not. I can hardly handle this."

"You're looking at this all wrong," Elin teased. "You could have them duel for your honor."

Krissy shook her head at her friend. "So… I should try to …" She wrapped her arms around herself.

"Don't let it be a 'whoever got there first' situation," Elin said. "Yes, make them chase you a little, but you are the one who gets to decide." She shook her head. "Did I tell you about Takashi?"

Krissy shook her head.

"Kitty gave me — no. Kitty is _still _giving me a hard time about a boy I met in Japan," Elin said. "We weren't even dating, but apparently, now I'm '_breaking hearts_' in the span of like … a week and a half." She gave her a little smile. "We had fun. Nothing close to serious. And that was it."

"Well, if you didn't like him, then you didn't have to keep dating him," Krissy said reasonably.

"I did like him," Elin said. "He was sweet and kind and a lot of fun. But … we had not quite two weeks. And that's the end of it." She shook her head again. "I don't think I would have dated him much longer if we'd have been there for another month."

Krissy reached over and pulled Elin into a hug. "I'm so glad you had fun. You deserved something fun after Nolan and all that fallout."

Elin smiled at her after they separated from the hug. "There is nothing wrong with just having a little fun. I got to see all the new spots in Tokyo because of it."

Krissy nodded and then darted in to hug her again. "I love you, Ellie."

"Love you too; now stop stressing out about this. If you're stressing, it's not right. Have a little fun. Please." Her voice dropped lower. "I can't believe I have to tell you this."

"You knew I was a drama queen since… forever."

"Yeah, but you have to relax a little," Elin said. "You have multiple boys chasing you. Multiple. Enjoy it."

Krissy couldn't help but smile at her. "Okay. You're right. You are. I'm… I'm going to ask Sying to go out with me this weekend."

"Good. I will not be able to see you until late Friday night," she said. "But I want to hear about it."

"Date with Jacob?"

"Yeah, I figure I'll give it a shot. He was singing outside of homeroom yesterday."

"He was… what?" Krissy's entire expression betrayed how entertained she was.

"Singing. To try to get me to go out with him."

"Ohmigosh, Ellie."

Elin waved her hand. "He's a football player. Probably head trauma."

Krissy laughed at her and hugged her again. "I want to hear about it too."

"We'll meet up here … or in Storm's old attic. Your call."

"Attic — just in case," Krissy decided.

Elin grinned. "You're still afraid of my dad, aren't you?"

"...maybe a little bit. And _only _when it comes to boys, because I swear to you, I really, really think he has it out for me."

Elin rolled her eyes but was smiling. "He does _not _have it out for you."

"He growled at Christian the other day!" Krissy insisted.

"Well … maybe he deserved it," Elin said. "Dad's rarely wrong."

Krissy shook her head. "He did not. It was an accident. He can't control it, and he accidentally touched your dad…"

"Wait … what happened?" Elin asked.

"He makes people hallucinate when he touches them. It's usually something from their own mind or from his if he's concentrating," Krissy explained.

"Oh … that … that's not good at all," Elin said, the smile gone entirely.

"But it wasn't his fault," Krissy said. "Really."

"How did he touch him, then? I thought he wore gloves."

"He got knocked over by someone in the halls and he hit his head… on Logan," Krissy said.

"What did Dad do?" Elin had shifted how she was sitting so she was more cross-legged and clearly more engaged.

Krissy frowned. "He, um, grabbed Christian and twisted him up — and I had to spend, like, forever promising that he wasn't going to get murdered in his sleep."

"That's ridiculous," Elin said, looking put off. "Dad would never kill anyone in their sleep."

"I know that, and you know that, but Christian doesn't know that," Krissy pointed out.

"I am reasonably sure that anyone that's even remotely aware of who and what my dad has been knows he wouldn't take someone out _in their sleep_. Maybe in _his _sleep if he was bored …"

Krissy couldn't help but smile at Elin. "Yeah, well. Anyway. I'll tell you about my date with Sying on Friday night."

"And team practices on Saturday — _fun!" _

"It really will be," Krissy promised before she giggled and disappeared in a poof of purple - but not until after kissing her friend on the cheek.

* * *

Sying could hardly believe it when Krissy had cornered him after class and all but informed him that they were going to go out to ice cream together. But he definitely wasn't going to argue it.

He really didn't pay any attention to anything else that happened that day all the way up until he met up with Krissy after class. She looked great.

"What made you change your mind?" he asked as he offered her his hand.

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

"I thought you said—"

"Sying, I have a date to the dance. I don't have a _boyfriend_," Krissy said.

He raised his eyebrows at her for a second, but he shook his head and decided not to say anything about it. He wasn't going to argue it when Krissy had finally agreed to go out with him. Even if it was just one date. This… he really needed to at least _try _this. Charlie was right; he wasn't going to get over it otherwise.

They went to Krissy's favorite ice cream place, and he honestly couldn't stop grinning. She looked a little bit odd in the inducer — still dark-haired and wearing a gorgeous blue dress but without any of the purple fur.

"Should I have changed the hair too?" Krissy asked when Sying still couldn't stop grinning at her.

"No, no, you look more like yourself this way," Sying said.

Krissy flushed bright purple but smiled down at her ice cream. "Thanks, Sying."

He watched her with a little smile before he took a big bite of his banana split. "So I'm trying to decide what I should do for my costume."

"I liked the Darth Maul one you did a few years ago."

"That took forever," he pointed out.

"Yeah, but it was amazing. The makeup alone was _perfect_."

"Yeah, but then everything tasted like black lipstick," he said, shaking his head.

"Well, what about… you could be an Avenger. Like Captain America?"

He blinked at her for a moment. "Really?"

"Well, yeah. I bet you could pull it off. We'll get you a shield…"

"You know what, I think I'm going to have to do that now, just to throw the shield around," he said, shaking his head with a smile.

She grinned at him and leaned over to steal the maraschino cherry off of the top of the banana split to pop into her mouth. "And you'd look good in the uniform."

Sying turned bright red, cleared his throat, and looked out the window so he could try to get his blushing under control — though he was totally derailed when he saw Elin with the tall, blond football player. "Hey, look!"

Krissy startled and looked out the window just in time to see Jacob pick Elin up onto his shoulders. She grinned. "Oh, I'm so glad she's having _fun_."

Sying watched the two of them and shook his head lightly. "He's ... "

"A good rebound," Krissy finished for him.

"Yeah."

"She's just trying to have fun," Krissy said. She smiled lightly. "That's what she told me. That there's nothing wrong with a little fun."

"She told _you_ that?"

"I know, I know, try not to die of shock," Krissy laughed.

Sying shook his head and then turned his attention back to Krissy. "So are you?"

"Am I what?"

"Having fun?"

Krissy flushed bright purple. "Yeah," she said, looking back down at her ice cream. "A lot."

He just grinned at her and went back to his own banana split, his own face flushed pink with pleasure as they ate their ice cream in silence.


	6. Dad, Can I Talk to You?

**Chapter 6: "Dad, Can I Talk To You?"**

Chance got home on Saturday morning and was, admittedly, pretty nervous about how his dad was going to take things. After all, for as much as he liked Mac, he had to admit that the guy was right — it was an open secret that Scott didn't like him or Alpha Flight.

And since Chance was still seventeen for a few more months, if he was going to even _start _the paperwork, he had to get his dad's permission.

He caught up to Scott just after he and Cody and Chloe had finished running a sim together working on their powers, so Scott was in a pretty good mood. That was something in his favor, at least.

"Dad, can I ask you something? Officially?" Chance asked — which, now that the words were out of his mouth, he realized was probably the worst thing to do when he had _just _gotten home, but hey, it was out there now.

"Of course," Scott said automatically before he even looked up at him. "What's on your mind?"

"Mac offered me a spot on Alpha Flight," he said.

For a moment, Scott didn't react more than to clench his jaw tighter and take a slow, steady breath. "Did he now?"

Chance nodded. "I want to take it," he said. Before Scott could say anything, he started to spill out his explanation. "It's exactly why I wanted to go to Canada, Dad. It's not the junior team. It's the honest-to-goodness senior team — and I got there on my own, no family connections, just high scores and wiping the floor with people in combat."

"You got on our team on your own too," Scott pointed out.

"Dad, I _know_. But..." He took a deep breath. "But, Dad, not everybody else knows that. I can make a name for myself on this team. On my own. Not as a second-generation X-Man." He held up a hand. "I _know_. I know. But you don't hear it, Dad, and if I want anyone to take me seriously, I have to _earn _it."

Scott didn't say a word, instead focusing on a spot on the far side of the room as he tried to find a way to say something that wouldn't come out as a shout.

Chance swallowed again. "It would just be for a couple years," he said. "Just to… I told you… I want to show people I'm …" He bit his lip. "Dad, I still want to be an X-Man. More than anything in the world. And I'm _going _to be an X-Man for the rest of my life." He swallowed again, almost reflexively. "Just let me prove I can do it on my own. Not to you, or Logan, or me, or … I just don't want to spend the rest of my life fighting the idea that I got in on my name alone."

Scott finally turned and gave him a dry look that spoke volumes — every bit of it clearly shouting "you know better."

Chance let out a breath. "I told you — I know. But Dad… I don't have any powers. You have to admit that it looks like you just… _gave _it to me. And people will keep dismissing me until I prove otherwise."

"Do you even want to stay on our team?" Scott asked finally. "While you're deciding?"

Chance looked completely taken aback. "Of course I do!" he said. "I'm not — I'm not _deciding _anything, Dad! The X-Men… that's what I want to do until the day I die. This — this is just — Dad, I'm never going to stop wanting to be an X-Man. You _have _to know that," he added, his eyes wide.

"I don't want any of our drills leaking to that team."

Chance blinked at him and then shook his head. "I won't. I promise. I won't do anything to hurt the team, Dad," he said quietly.

"I know," Scott said with a minute nod.

"So… I'm still going to come down for practices. If… if that's okay," Chance said slowly.

Scott nodded. "Don't miss any," he said. "I don't want you out of practice."

"I won't," Chance swore, then got to his feet and let out a little breath. "I guess… I'm ... I'll see you at practice."

"I'm glad you're home, Chance."

Chance paused and then shot his dad a small smile. "Love you too, Dad," he said before he slipped out and hit the hallway.

Scott went right to the Danger Room after that — and that was where Kate found him, since she was the senior member of the team set to help with the junior squad practice that afternoon. He was reprogramming the entire set of sims that he'd had planned for the team, and Kate watched him with a frown when she saw it.

"Okay, boss man, what happened, and why do you look like the world has ended?" Kate asked, her arms crossed as she leaned in the doorway.

"I'm just trying to update the sims for later," Scott said in a flat tone.

"Why? Something come up?" Kate asked, moving forward with a frown.

"Just … have to take a different direction than I was planning on."

"Scott." Kate gave him a look. "What happened?"

"Not in the mood to talk about it, Kate."

"Yeah, well, I'm the one helping with practice today, so you're gonna have to learn to communicate," Kate said. "It's like… I should just put that on a recording device and play it on repeat with you and Logan."

He stopped, straightened up, and turned to give her a glare. "You're not funny."

"I was being perfectly serious," Kate said. "Come on. I'm your teammate. Let me help you out, boss man. What do you know that I don't know?"

"Chance is joining Alpha Flight," Scott said before he turned back to the board. "So … he's not going to be able to dedicate as much to the junior team here. So …" He gestured to the equipment in front of him. "I'm readjusting."

Kate broke into a smile. "Good for him!" she said.

Scott didn't even try to hide the grumble as he locked his jaw and set back to his task.

"Oh, come on, Scott," Kate said, shaking her head at him. "I didn't really figure out who I _was _as Hawkeye until I branched out from the Young Avengers. Not everyone can be The First X-Man."

"Great pep-talk, Kate; if you don't mind …"

"You should take him out to celebrate," Kate told him. "Seriously. You look like your whole world has crashed down just because he wants to stretch his wings?"

"What do you want, Kate?"

Kate looked like she couldn't even believe Scott and she shook her head at him. "Scott…" She leaned against the wall with her arms crossed. "Okay. Why was I the first non-powered person in the X-Men?"

"Honestly?" Scott said without looking up. "You were the first that wanted to be, and you passed Logan's tests."

She shook her head lightly. "After I spent years as a solo hero, as Clint's partner, as a Young Avenger, working with SHIELD… Scott, by the time I got here, I had a solid name for myself, and do you know what people said?" She gestured at herself. "They said I was being twisted around. The poor, sweet human girl surrounded by dangerous, powerful mutants. It didn't even cross their minds that I was in the same league as you. And I had _years _of experience behind me." She shook her head. "Now imagine that — as a kid. Ten years old and that boy was being bullied for being a _pity case_, Scott."

When Scott was still glaring, she hopped up on the board to sit on it and look at him squarely. "Then… Scott. You want to talk about famous, powerful fathers, you're looking at the right girl. I was an Avenger. I was the top of all my dance classes. I could shoot as well as Clint and fence well enough to keep up with Kang the Conquerer for a hot second — and my dad never saw any of that." She shook her head. "You have a kid who has bent over backwards to prove himself and the first time he branches out to try to be his own person, you react like he's betrayed you because it's not what _you_ expected." She gestured at him. "Are you _trying _to give the boy a complex? Another one, I mean?"

"Don't be ridiculous. Of course not."

"I'm not being ridiculous. I'm telling you: out of everyone here… Scott, did you ever consider that this is something he's _excited _about?" she asked. "Something he _wants _to do?" She reached over and smacked him in the side of the head. "All he wants to do is live up to your name and this team and this legacy you've built up."

"I don't trust that team," Scott said. "At all."

"You trust Chance," Kate pointed out.

"Of course I do," Scott said, frowning deeper her way.

"Did you _tell _him that? Or did you just… go all super serious boss man on him?"

He opened his mouth to say something, then let out a disbelieving noise as he shook his head.

Kate let her breath out through her nose and then reached over to squeeze his arm. "Listen. One parent to another, I get it. I really do. But I gotta tell you: when I was in that position, and I was running with aliens and gods and cosmic beings… it really made a difference to me that Cap told me he believed in me. That Clint supported me when I went solo, even though I _know _he needed me around." She gave him a little smile. "You'll never know what it's like trying to keep up with people who have nuclear arsenals in their eyes and unstoppable claws in their arms, Scott."

"Well you're half right," Scott said dryly.

"It's not the same, and you know it," Kate said, her chin tipped up. "Scott, if me or Clint miss a shot, that's it. We're just… some idiots with bows. On your worst day, you can still manage to blast someone. On my worst day, I'm screwed." She took a deep breath. "Don't you get it? People like me, Chance, Clint, even Mac, for crying out loud — if we can't keep up, no one will say it was because we didn't live up to our full potential. They'll just say we were never meant to keep up. They'll dismiss us, and move on, and they'll find someone else to celebrate. The next big, showy powered person who can benchpress a planet or whatever."

"None of which applies if that person is a mutant. One of us slips, it's because we were never supposed to be breathing to begin with, and the world is better off. It's not the same."

Kate shook her head. "The world is changing, Scott."

"Clearly not fast enough," he said with a breath.

"Fast enough that the only one of your kids who has been repeatedly nearly murdered for their genetics is _not _the mutant," Kate pointed out.

"Pointing to the one totally psychotic freak that has it out for my genes isn't a very good example, Kate."

"Okay, what about all of the rest of it, then?" Kate challenged. "Growing up in a school full of powered kids — who regularly and repeatedly treated him like dirt? Or how about getting on the team and fighting the kind of villains who put him in their plans as 'also dead'?"

"He's proved he's more than capable," Scott pointed out.

"To _us_."

"Who gives a _damn _about what anyone else thinks about it?" Scott spit out from clenched teeth. "That doesn't matter."

Kate blinked at him for a moment before she couldn't help but smile at him. "You're a sweetheart, Scott. You really are." She took a deep breath and let it out. "But it still _hurts_. You can't tell me it doesn't." When Scott glared down at the control board, she shook her head. "Scott, he's seventeen."

"I know. I'm not arguing with him," Scott said.

Kate let her shoulders drop and then hopped down to give him a solid hug. "I'm just trying to tell you where he's coming from," she said quietly. "He's not trying to leave the team. He's not trying to go rogue… he's not even trying to go solo, which is what I did when I was trying to figure out who I was besides just 'the girl who replaced Clint for a hot minute when he was dead'. He's a short flight away with someone who understands what it's like, trying something new so he can find out who he is besides 'the kid on the X-Men who had to train since age five just to keep up with his powered-up friends'. That's all I'm trying to say."

"I'm not arguing that," Scott said quietly.

"No, but you needed to hear it," Kate said. "Because he needs to know you get it." She glanced up at him and let out a breath. "I know it would be better if it was the Avengers or someone you don't have a weird blood feud or whatever with, but hey, at least he didn't run off to the other end of the country, steal your dog, and set up an unlicensed PI agency," she said with an impish smirk.

"Is it too late to buy a dog?" Scott deadpanned.

Kate could help but burst out in a laugh. "As long as he gets along with Princess," she chuckled, then shook her head and looked up at him. "Seriously, Scott. Trust your kid. Even if you don't trust Mac."

"I do trust him," Scott said.

"He's got his panic button and his comm and everything, right?"

"Far as I know …"

"Then if your Logan-like paranoia levels turn out to be true, I promise, I will come with you the second the panic button goes off and personally put arrows in anyone who hurts him."

"Unless you're wrapped up with a new elfling," Scott said with a perfectly straight face.

Kate gaped at him for a second and then hit him in the arm. "You're horrible! I just spent all this effort trying to help you — and you take _Kurt's side_!"

"So, you're taking sides now?" Scott asked with a tiny smirk. "Sounds serious."

"Scott, I am almost forty-four years old. _Do not jinx me_," Kate said, dryly, as she dropped into the seat next to him.

* * *

The junior team practice was a little less smooth than usual, at least to start. Scott had made it clear that he was expecting single-leader moves, and although he gave each of them a chance to run with it, it was clear that the frontrunner to push the group through the exercises without any real additional help was Elin.

Not that she was overly happy about it. She'd _liked _how well it had been working before, when she and Chance were brainstorming together and working out plans as a duo. This felt hollow. But she could see by both Scott and Chance's body language that something was up before the first sim even started … and the nerves and anxiousness that Chance had rolling off of him was enough that she had to make sure that someone was standing between them as they got their directions.

But after the first sim, which was admittedly rough, Krissy was the one to ask: "Why not dual leaders? I thought that worked better."

"You were all doing well under that umbrella, and we know that will work," Scott said over the comms. "But I need to know that your leaders will be able to make the calls on their own too."

The epic eye roll from Kate next to him in the booth was more proof that something was up that Scott didn't want to tell them about. Which just had Chance acting strangely — slightly off his game, though he seemed to be trying _harder_.

But finally, when it was all said and done, Kate cut in over the comm before Scott could stop her. "And congratulations, Chance … on getting an offer to join _Alpha Flight _in the first _month _of going to the Canadian school!"

All of the kids in the Danger Room turned Chance's way with looks of shock — though it quickly morphed to a string of congratulations and hugs.

Krissy teleported over without hesitation to wrap Chance up in a hug and beam at him. "That's amazing!" she gushed, and he grinned and rubbed the back of his neck.

"International super star," Gerry teased.

But Elin was watching him closer now that they were out of the adult's radar and in the locker room. "I'm not gonna lie," she said quietly as she put her boots in the locker, "I would have preferred the dual leaders over the single one. It was fun."

Chance smiled lightly and let out a breath. "It was, wasn't it?" he agreed.

"Well … we might just have to wait until you're running Alpha Flight to do it for real? Right?" Elin said with a troublemaking smirk.

Chance stared at her for a moment. "Wait, what are you talking about?"

"If you're going to go all red and white, you can take that one … and I'll keep this one warmed up while you're gone."

Chance shook his head at her with a little laugh. "It's just for a few years. I told Mac I'd help him get the new team together."

"Uh-huh," Elin said, smiling at him softly. "When you get your suit, are you still going to come and play with us — or do I need to fall off of a mountain to get a test flight?"

He shook his head at her and smiled. "I promised Dad I wouldn't miss a practice. And…" He grinned quietly. "If you really want a flight, I'm sure I could work something out."

"Yeah … pencil me in for when you're not too busy," she agreed.

Chance nodded and then gave her another grin, though this one was decidedly more sheepish. "Thanks, El."

She closed her locker door and took a step closer, arms out clearly to give him a hug. "I am so. Not. Surprised. You'll be running that racket in no time at all."

Chance wrapped her up and let out all his breath. "Thanks," he said again. "That means a lot."

"So," she said without really stepping back, "what do you want to do to celebrate?"

"I sort of got addicted to Italian ice while I was out with Krissy?" he said. "There's a great place in the city that's got it pretty close."

"I'm game if you can jailbreak me," she said, shrugging.

"What?" He raised an eyebrow her way. "What're _you _in trouble for?"

"Oh, I'm not in trouble … just the whole raised nervousness thing … school and back is all I get. More or less. The city's a stretch, though."

"Inducer?" he offered. "That's how I got around when I was dead for a hot minute."

She snapped her fingers his way. "Probably the best way to keep you from being spotted with riff-raff too. Good idea."

"Yeah, the way my dad's acting, pretty sure you mean it the other way around."

"Ah … no. I am right on this one, but … you'll see, I'm sure." She smiled his way and headed for the door. "Whenever you're ready. I just need to pass it by the warden."

He grinned and nodded. "Just let me talk to my mom and my siblings first so I can be the one to tell them."

"Take your time. I'm not going anywhere exciting."

Chance grinned and hugged her again before he headed off. He was smiling a bit to himself as he headed down the hall, though he didn't get much further before Scott caught up to him, and Chance paused, half-expecting an argument or something.

"You caught me off guard earlier," Scott said.

"Yeah. I figured that out," Chance said evenly.

"You need to know that I'm going to back you up on whatever it is you want to do," Scott said, trying to keep from sounding too much like he was running another team exercise.

Chance glanced up at him for a second and then let out his breath. "Yeah. Okay."

"I mean it," Scott said, picking up more of his stern-dad tone. "I know you'll do well on whatever team — or teams — you want to be on. But my concerns aren't with you personally. Keep your guard up; that's all I'm worried about."

"Dad, you really think after everything that's happened I'm not going to be careful?"

"Do you really think after everything that's happened that I'm not going to be concerned? Not a bit of it has been your fault."

Chance shook his head. "Dad, Mac is hand-picking successors for his _retirement_," he said frankly. "He's not letting anyone past the junior team level that he doesn't think will be better than the last team."

"That's great to hear," Scott said with a smirk. "I'm not surprised. You're good. But it was never really Mac that was the trouble — so I'm told."

Chance nodded slowly.

"He just irritates me."

"I know," Chance said. "I mean, I don't know why. I kinda like the Hudsons. Mac's fun to work in the workshop with. He loves flying as much as I do — and you do. And he gets it when I tell him about the team."

Scott nodded to himself. "He's changed a lot over the years," Scott said.

"Maybe that's it," Chance said with a shrug. He looked up at Scott. "I meant what I said, Dad. This is only for a few years tops. I'm not going anywhere."

Scott gave him a tired smile. "Even if you change your mind about that … I still want you to come back."

Chance let his shoulders drop before he finally rushed over and gave Scott a hug. "Thanks, Dad," he said quietly.

* * *

Charlie watched her brother and her dad carefully through the entire announcement to the rest of the family. Chance was fairly relieved that their mom had been so obviously excited and so thrilled for him, and Chloe had been sure to wrap her big brother up in a hug.

"Just gotta do something different than the rest of us all the time," Cody teased him.

"Uh, yeah. Born that way," Chance said with a smirk Cody's way.

"So does this mean you're switching teams? Because that's a crummy thing to do when I'm taking Storm's test next weekend…"

"You are?" Chance spun around to grin at Cody.

"Well, considering we're not hiding away anymore…"

Chance wrapped Cody up in a hug, and just that like, he'd transitioned seamlessly to being an excited older brother as he talked about how good Cody was going to be for the team, how much he was going to love it, all of that.

But with the boys distracted, that meant Charlie had the perfect opportunity to snag her dad by the arm. "Dad," she said quietly to get his attention, then sat down with him and laid her head on his shoulder. "You have to calm down. He's not _abandoning _anyone."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Charlie looked up at him and then rolled her eyes. "You know I know when people lie to me. You _know _I know that. And Dad, I'm telling you: he _desperately _wants your approval. That's not abandoning you; that's kind of the opposite." When Scott just gave her a sort of look, she let out a breath and then hugged him tighter by the arm. "Dad…" She shook her head and kissed his cheek. "Dad, I love you. And so does Chance. You know that, right?"

"Yeah, and I hope you know it goes both ways," Scott said, frowning slightly.

She hugged him a bit tighter and nodded, then got to her feet. "He thinks he's disappointed you; you think he's abandoning you… both of you are going to drive me insane," she said before she kissed his cheek again. "I'm going to go congratulate my brother and tell him what's up with you so he doesn't think you _hate_ him. And if you could maybe try to not think the whole family is falling apart in the meantime, my headache would appreciate it."


	7. Outreach

**Chapter 7: "Outreach"**

"So, Krissy said you were dating the football star at the school," Chance said as he sat across from Elin with the Italian ice in front of him.

Elin shrugged up one shoulder. "I figure everyone's getting out there … and my dating pool is still amazingly small."

"Which _still _surprises me," Chance said. "I mean, I know I tease you about being scary, but … I mean, here you are getting Italian ice with me just because my dad's being more dramatic than Kurt…"

"I'm starting to think that I should have started school with an inducer on," she said quietly.

Chance shook his head. "That wouldn't be you. Even when me and Cody were hiding, we were still _us _at school."

"Little different rules, though," she defended. "Public school. Probably could have just stayed in PJ's all day …"

Chance laughed out loud. "You should do that."

She pointed her spoon his way. "If I'm staying in my PJ's I'm staying in bed. Which … I think is still a possibility."

"Shame," Chance said, shaking his head. "I'd pay to see you take teachers down a peg wearing Little Mermaid footies."

"Silly, sweet Summers," she said, shaking her head at him. "I have fuzzy, light blue, no-foot pj's."

"I'm getting you footies for Christmas now, I hope you know."

"Then you better expect the same," she warned.

"Little Mermaid or maple leaf? Because there seems to be a theme…"

"I think Little Mermaid would fit your family better — all the jokes considered — and you know… you'll probably want a break from your maple leaf by then. You know. For sleep?"

Chance grinned and nodded. "I'm getting you Little Mermaid ones, though. Pretty girl who spends all her time looking at the way the other side lives…"

"Then I'll get you the ones with the buttoned butt flap. For comedic purposes."

"I will wear them every night and no one can stop me," he swore, grinning wider.

She was laughing outright by that time. "Practical for those up north. You'll probably need them."

"Yeah, it's already getting pretty cold now."

"Should I send you back with a space heater? Electric blanket?"

"Electric blanket would be nice," he said. "But I think Mom has most of that covered. Especially now she knows I'll be there for a few years."

"Yeah, I figured that was going to be how it went," she said, nodding, though she didn't lose the smirk entirely. "You have a pattern."

"Hey." Chance shook his head at her. "One extra semester in Europe does not constitute a _pattern_."

She raised her eyebrows and shifted to her best innocent expression. "Okay."

"Really. And this is different. I went in hoping to make a name for myself and… El, I'm not even gonna wear a cowl. This is a chance to be…" He leaned back and let the sentence trail off from there.

"Oh, you will make a difference," she said. "You're going to let everyone see how great you are. I have _faith._" She waved one hand. "I'm sorry everyone's made you feel like you have to, but … blow their doors off."

Chance smiled at her across the table and couldn't help but let out a small laugh. "You… El, this is why you're my best friend."

"Pen pal anyhow," she said.

"Best friend." He shook his head at her. "I don't have anyone else like you."

"Oh, come on. You've got plenty," she said, dropping her gaze as she shook her head.

"Not like you."

"Sweet Summers," Elin said to the table.

"Hey, I'm just being honest. No one else… gets it. Not like you do. My sister doesn't count. She's my twin sister."

"Well … I'm not fighting the non-mutant thing? But … the parallels are there anyhow, seeing as Mom and Dad are what they are," she pointed out. "Just a lot more durable and _worlds _ahead of anything I'll be able to do for a long time. If I stick with it."

"You'll get there," Chance said. "But… maybe don't get there for a few centuries, okay? I know how much crap went down to get them _honed_."

"Then you'll never get to see me go full badass, and that is a crying shame."

"I know," Chance agreed with a little smile. "But it's more important that you're not screwed around. Best friends - goes both ways."

"Pretty sure it's genetic to get screwed around," Elin pointed out.

"Nah," Chance said, shaking his head. "That makes it sound like it was too… I don't know. Makes it sound like we didn't have a choice in it."

"Well, part of it, we really don't," she said. "And it contributes to it and pulls in crazy."

"Still glad you have my back," Chance said with a smile. "And you know I've got yours, right? Even with this new responsibility."

"I'm honestly hoping I don't have to call you in for anything," she admitted. "But I know you'd help."

"Hey, I'll help with anything from finding footie pajamas to taking on an army of, I dunno, Russians or something."

She tipped her head slightly and looked as if she was weighing it out. "What about killing the rest of this cherry ice?"

He grinned and held out his hand for it. "Got you covered for that, too."

* * *

When Chance got back to Canada, he was still a little anxious about the whole thing. He had a few meetings scheduled with a Mr. Horton with the government liaison's office at the school — so that he could do a whole lot of paperwork.

But he was surprised when Jamie sat down next to him and Oliver at lunch with an almost shy smile and a small card. "I know I'm not supposed to know, but Mac was projecting it so loudly even _I _could hear it," she explained as she handed him the card. "And I know you don't know too many people around here, so I thought someone should congratulate you."

Chance blinked at her for a moment before he couldn't help but smile. "That was actually really thoughtful, thanks."

Jamie smiled and nodded. "You're going to be even busier with the team now, aren't you?" she asked.

He nodded absently as he read the message in the card — "Congratulations! I'll be cheering you on from the sidelines. It's about time Alpha Flight got some GOOD fresh blood." — and then looked back up at her and shook his head. "You didn't have to—"

"I don't have any friends here either. I know how isolating it is," Jamie said, cutting him off. "You made the team. You did what every kid here is trying to prove they can do. You're an X-Man _and _on Alpha Flight." She waved a hand at the rest of the cafeteria. "You think that's going to make you more or less likely to be hated? I just wanted to make sure that the first response you got here was positive."

With that, Jamie sauntered off, leaving Chance staring after her for a moment before he turned to Oliver. "O...kay."

Oliver shrugged openly. "That's the most I've ever heard her say," he admitted. "She usually stays away from anybody who's not, you know, in her classes or trying to flirt with her or something."

"She get a lot of that?"

"Why? You interested?"

Chance turned to look at Oliver and then had to laugh when he realized that the redheaded boy was smirking at him. "Yeah, Oliver. I definitely have time to get into a relationship right now. Especially one with the girl who got Gerry kidnapped by Hydra."

"To be fair, my dad has done everything possible to make sure Viper can't contact her anymore."

"Seriously, Oliver, I'm really not interested in dating anyone here."

"Too good for us Canadians?"

"Oh yeah, that's it," Chance said, rolling his eyes. He tucked Jamie's card away in his bag and got to his feet as he and Oliver headed down the hall and Chance did his best to duck Oliver's questions about who he was interested in back home if it wasn't someone here.

Thankfully, he was pretty sure that his first practice with Alpha —Flight wasn't going to be an extended question and answer session about who he was in love with. He and Oliver parted ways once they got there, and he waved at a grinning Mac and Heather as he closed the door behind him.

"Chance, come on over and meet the team," Mac called out, waving him over.

Chance couldn't help but grin as he made his way over. "Hello, 'the team'," he said with a smirk.

Mac smirked, as did most of the rest of the group, before he started to introduce them. "Not sure who you'd know on your own … but … Walter, Puck, and Jeanne … this is Cyclops' son — who totally destroyed our junior team in practice. Kid has _talent._"

"Chance Summers," Chance said. "Please, don't just refer to me by the family name."

"So he's got _sense _too," Puck said. "How'd that happen in _that _house?"

Chance turned toward Puck, looked him over for a second, and then raised a single eyebrow. "Real easy, actually. Got all the good genes except the one with an X on it."

"Don't pay any attention to Eugene," Jeanne-Marie said. "He's sensitive."

"So am I," Chance said with a small smile her way.

"Why don't we start with something easy today?" Heather suggested. "You said you had an interest in sharpshooting?"

"Which is totally different in the States than it is here," Puck said under his breath before he looked over to Chance. "No offense."

Chance just started to very slowly smirk. "Show me how it's done, then."

"Great!" Mac said, waving for Chance to follow him, though naturally, the whole team went along to see how well the new kid did. "I know you spent what … three semesters or four? With Captain Britain learning how to shoot."

Chance's smirk widened a bit. "I was in Europe for three semesters," he said with a nod. "Though to be fair, I also had a Hawkeye living in the same house as me? So I wouldn't say he's the one that taught me how to shoot. Let's be real. We all had bows by age five or six."

Mac nodded and gestured to the benches. "We don't use them often, but when we do, it's standard military issue. How does two hundred yards sound to start off? Not much for a sharpshooter, I'm sure."

"Hey, Puck's the one showing me how it's done. I'll run with whatever he wants," Chance said, still smirking.

"That's right I am," Puck said. "And yeah, we can start you easy, kiddo." He didn't sound overly friendly at all, though, as they got started.

Chance didn't say anything one way or another, just let Puck take his shots first and then fired one practice round to gauge his aim before he spent the rest in the dead center of the target and looked back. "Warmed up?"

Puck didn't look overly entertained, nor did he seem like he was ready to just give up either. "Take it to four," he said, gesturing down range.

Chance smirked and nodded. "Go ahead. Show me."

Puck gave the boy a glare and took his shots — and while he was on the target, and even the circle, he was pulling to the left by about three inches from center.

Chance looked at Puck's target for a moment and seemed to consider it for a moment. He could if he wanted go slightly off center, but… He decided not to get a reputation for playing games with anyone and simply took the shots in the dead center like he'd been trained.

"He'll do this all day," Heather warned after Chance took his shots. "Why don't you save us the suspense and tell us how far out you can shoot."

"Well, a thousand's good for a warmup, but K had me at about a mile out before I left," Chance said, not quite able to stow the smirk entirely.

The whole group seemed to pause for just a moment before Puck swore under his breath and Mac grinned. "She never said she taught you …"

"I was about ten when she started teaching me the safety rules," Chance said. "My brother blew up the whole range on accident when he got his powers. It's pretty much our favorite thing to do together."

"And … she taught you … what? Did Logan talk her into it?"

Chance furrowed his brow for a moment. "Why would he do that? I needed to blow off steam, and it turns out I'm a good shot. She's a good teacher."

"It's just that she wasn't very approachable about teaching anyone anything but how to bleed," Walter offered.

"Huh." Chance tipped his head Walter's way. "That's weird. I learned everything I know about guns from my mom and K."

"Then I guess we can move on to a regular practice," Mac said, shaking his head.

Chance nodded lightly and then offered his hand to Puck to shake. "Sorry. It was too good an opening."

"Aww, I'd've done the same thing," Puck said, smirking to himself. "Just glad I didn't put money on it."

"I thought about it, but then my first impression on the team would be basically sharking you? So I decided against it."

"Smart move," Heather said as they headed in to the very-non-holographic training room.

"Next time, I could bring the energy guns one of my best friends helped make. That's usually what I take when I go out with the team back home. You know. Since I don't have the optic blasts." He tapped the side of his temple.

"Sounds great," Mac said, nodding. "I'd like to see them in action."

Chance grinned, then looked around at the group. "So. What's next?"


	8. Girls Trip

**Chapter 8: "Girls Trip"**

Elin was in her first-hour class, with plans to stick around after school, when the call came in on her comm to be ready to go for a pick up in France. She looked up at the clock and frowned when she saw she only had a few minutes left in that class — but that would mean she'd have to book it to where they could pick her up on the way out.

She bit her lip and narrowed her eyes as she looked at the teacher, then gathered her books and simply got up and slipped out of the door — flat ignoring both teacher and students as she rushed out. The after-school plans would wait … well. After she got done with a detention, she was sure. But five more minutes of reading Shakespeare and going over the boring checklist of crappy high school classes wasn't nearly as important as getting on the blackbird for something more _real. _

The principal tried to block her way on her way to the door, citing several rules she was breaking, but Elin shrugged as she shouldered past him. "Then I guess … I'll go ahead and take the detention. I have an emergency call from home. Not sorry," Elin said over her shoulder.

"Miss Howlett, if there is an emergency, we should get the call in the office," he called back to her.

"Mmm… no. No, you shouldn't," Elin shouted back before she climbed in the Jeep and nearly peeled out on her way out of the parking lot. She was in a dead run by the time she saw Krissy leaving the locker room. "Just gotta snag the uniform! I'll change on the plane."

Krissy nodded. "Sying and Gerry aren't going to make it. Gerry's with his mom, and Sying is with his dad at the Avengers' place doing the ambassador's son thing."

"Like I'm worried about them seeing me change," she muttered to herself before she grabbed the uniform and Krissy teleported both of them right into the plane.

"I just mean…" Krissy indicated both of their mothers in the jet. "Girls night."

"Excellent," Elin said before she started changing on the spot. "I'm pretty sure I have detention, Mom. Not sorry."

"Good," K called back. "Don't be."

"Oh my gosh, Ellie, you're going to get a reputation! What did you do?" Krissy asked.

"Tell me it was good," Kate called back.

"Ran out of class to go on this call. I was bored out of my mind. Might have accidentally told the principal off on the way out."

"Well, that is good," Kate said with a smirk.

"Besides," Elin said, pulling her uniform on, "this has to be way more interesting than what was happening in the stadium."

"What _was _happening in the stadium?" Krissy asked curiously.

"A bunch of the kids get together to watch the football team practice … I usually get my homework done if I go. It's quieter than the library after school. If that means anything." Elin shrugged. "And no one talks to me, so that's … nice."

"Homecoming's in a few weeks, right?" Krissy said. "That'll be louder."

"Mmhmm," Elin said. "But that's probably not going to be a big thing until closer to the game — from what I'm told. After school is just practice."

"If it's anything like the school I went to, it'll get more obnoxious the closer it gets. After school is a bunch of girls in tight shirts wanting to get the _right _date," Kate said.

"Charming," Elin deadpanned.

"Hey, maybe it's changed."

"I doubt it," she said. "They've been giggling and comparing notes for the past two weeks anyhow. Morons."

"I'm so sorry," Kate said, and she sounded incredibly sincere.

"The boys are doing the same thing — without the giggles," Elin pointed out. "Ridiculous pissing contest."

"That _never _changes," Kate says. "Even when you find the right one when you're older, they still keep that… your brother just about took Kurt's tail off when they first met."

"James would never do such a thing," Elin said with a look of shock before she caught Kate's raised eyebrow look and dropped into a seat to tie her boots. "Right. The other one. With the hair issues."

"They both have hair issues," Krissy giggled.

"I think James looks nice with the long hair," Elin said.

"I think he looks like he is going to work for someone named 'Johnny' who speaks with a bad New York accent and works out of the back of an Italian restaurant," Krissy laughed.

"Oddly specific," K muttered from the cockpit.

"But incredibly accurate," Kate chuckled. "Atta girl."

"I don't know … I liked it when Logan had his hair long for that little while," K said to Kate with a smirk.

"I hated that so much and you know it. It gives me flashbacks. And makes me forever sad that the adorable Chance and Elin long-distance baby talk went away."

"Want me to go blonde again for you?" K offered. "Logan might like it …"

"You're trying to turn me into Scott, and I _like _having some black hair."

"See, and I thought I was kinda cute as a blonde," she said, shaking her head. "Back on task … are you ready to save some poor, innocent soul from croissant-munching snobs?"

"Oh, always," Kate promised.

"Great, then we can be quick and stop into a few shops before we go back home," K decided. "It's been a while since I poked around Paris."

As it turned out, it was harvest time in the Bordeaux area where the call for help was originating. The mutant in question had found herself faced with an interesting problem — and one that the X-Men hadn't really seen in this capacity since the race for 'weaponized' mutants started.

The young woman was surrounded by a hoard of angry vineyard workers. All around the girl was a circle of frost — perfectly covering the ground and anything within the circle, though it was clear that the more upset the girl got, the further the circle crept outward, and the harvesters were angrily shouting for her to stop or to leave, not that it did them any good. She was surrounded by grapevines. She'd been working with them, as evidenced by the clippers in one hand and the bunch of frozen grapes in the other. It had simply been a case of horrible timing on her part - and apparently, she was another late bloomer. Something else that seemed to be on the rise.

When the women pushed their way through the crowd, the entire group of them started to try to calm the crowd down, since all of them knew at least a little French. "Elin, try to talk to the girl; we'll handle the crowd," K said just loud enough for the other girls to hear before she stepped forward and raised a hand to try and calm down the loudest and most aggressive-looking of the angry group.

And while K was talking down the leader of the mob in a perfect Parisian accent, Elin had stepped into the circle of frost — and had stared at her boots curiously as the frost covered them, too. "We're here to help you," Elin said, sure to repeat it in French as well. "_Nous sommes là pour vous aider_." She took a few steps closer. "Don't be afraid. _N'ai pas peur." _

"I speak English," the girl said with a heavy accent, though she looked relieved all the same. "Are you …"

"We're the X-Men," Elin said, trying to keep her tone even and calm. "So we can get you away from the crowd safely and quickly … but I'm afraid you need to try to relax and calm down. It's common for new powers to be hard to control if you're under stress. Just … try to breathe slowly."

The crowd around them was firing up, but Elin kept her cool. "Nice and easy. Ignore them …" She carefully tried to get the girl to follow along with a slow, deep breathing — and it was working wonders. Enough so that the frosted circle began to retreat toward the girl. Elin glanced down to see the frost melting and followed the edge of it, waving Krissy closer.

"This is my best friend in the world," Elin said as Krissy reached the two of them. "There is no fast way out of here, unless you go with her, but I need you to keep calm and not freeze my best friend."

The girl paused and looked between the two masked X-Men. "What do I call you?"

Elin looked toward Krissy for a moment. "I don't have a code name, but you can call me El."

Krissy followed her friend's lead with a warm smile. "You can call me Elfling," she said. "That's pretty much what everyone calls me anyway, even without codenames."

Elin shot Krissy a little smile that she knew she couldn't see and shook her head. "She can get you out of here quickly — to safety." She paused. "What's your name? I hate to just not call you anything."

"Michelle," the girl said softly.

"Wonderful," Elin said in a relieved tone. "My friend will help you away from the angry mob; please, try to remember to stay calm, and I'll be right back to you before you know it."

Krissy held out her hand to Michelle with a little grin. "First teleport is always fun, like a carnival ride. At least, that's what I'm told." When Michelle hesitantly took Krissy's hand, Krissy teleported off with the young woman, reappearing back in the jet a moment later with her hand on Michelle's back to steady her just in case — though to Krissy's relief, it seemed like Michelle wasn't too dizzy and was even grinning delightedly.

Naturally, as soon as the two of them disappeared in a poof of smoke, the locals got a little more restless, and Kate grabbed Elin to clear her out while K shouted back to keep the crowd off of them for their departure. It wasn't until they were back in the jet that Elin took off her mask as her mother swore up a blue streak in French, looking livid the whole way.

"They didn't like your disappearing act, Elfling," Elin said as she finally offered Michelle her hand to shake.

Krissy waved a hand. "Everybody's a critic."

"Are you calmer now? More in control?" Elin asked as she sat down by the new girl. "I only ask because my mother would like to stop in Paris on the way home … and I'm sure Hawkeye would too."

Michelle looked between the women on the jet and took a deep breath. "I've never seen Paris," she admitted.

"If you're nervous or overwhelmed, we can give you an inhibitor for the afternoon," K offered. "But you're going to need clothes, and this is far superior to the mall."

"Plus, it's fun," Kate said with a wide smile over her shoulder.

"And we're paying," K added. "So there is no excuse not to get too much coffee and then head back with a new look."

Michelle nodded. "That sounds nice."

"Perfect," K decided. "Help her get into an inhibitor, and everyone should leave the uniforms behind. The guys won't miss us for too long."

* * *

Chance was surprised to get an email notification in the middle of the day, but he was in between class and training and had the time to check it.

_GUESS WHERE WE ARE, _Krissy led out the email, along with a whole bunch of pictures of herself and Elin and their mothers with another girl in Paris.

_We totally got a call about a mutant being chased by an angry mob, which, honestly, feels kind of old school? But K says France is really serious about their wine. It was a thing._

_Anyway, it was straightforward enough. Elin talked her down, and I 'ported her out. I almost, ALMOST made a joke about how if you'd been there, you would have flirted her down but refrained. You should be so proud of my self-restraint. _

_We would have called you if it was an all-hands thing, but it was really fun to do a girls trip, not gonna lie. I'll tell you more about it in person next time you come down. You should see the dresses we got. I'm going to knock Christian's socks off. _

_And possibly Sying's? I … may need some advice on that front when you come down next. You know me - always wrapped up in drama. _

_Don't go drowning in maple sugar up there!_

_~Krissy _

Chance stared at the message — and the accompanying pictures — for a long moment before he finally drafted a response.

_Krissy,_

_See, you do things like that and you've got me questioning all my life decisions all over again. That's completely unfair. You went on a mission to flirt with a French girl and didn't invite me? Rude._

_No, in all seriousness, I'm sure Elin was amazing. You know she's always been good with people, even if she won't admit it. Depending on how the new girl swings, it probably helps that Elin's drop-dead gorgeous too, but you know. That's just my opinion._

_As for the rest…_

_Krissy, Sying is one of the best friends I have in this world. I went to space for him, for crying out loud. If you ask me, if you like him, then my answer is always going to be to make him happy and date him. I know he likes you. He always has._

_But if you don't like him, don't jerk him around. I know I don't need to tell you that. _

_You're amazing, Kris, and any guy would be lucky to date you. I just want to make sure you know that you can be intoxicating, so when you decide to pursue someone, you need to be all in._

_This probably sounds better in person. _

_. _

_Good luck out there. Try not to have the entire male population of Westchester drooling at your feet._

_~Chance_

Chance read over his response once before he sent it off, still shaking his head to himself, when Jamie sat down beside him and leaned over. "Bad news from home?"

"No."

"Oh, I thought it was something bad," Jamie said with a little frown. "You seemed bothered."

Chance turned to face her fully and then pressed his lips together in a frown. "Don't do that."

"Do what?"

"Don't read me," Chance said. "My sister does it, and our big sister doesn't do it _too_ often, but she and my older brother can both do it, and I hate it. If I want to share something, I'll share it."

Jamie's eyebrows went up, and she held up both hands. "Woah there, tiger. If you're mad at someone, that's fine, but there's no reason to take my head off. I wasn't prying. It was just… sitting there. You weren't hiding it."

"Well, don't say anything about it. It's not your business."

Jamie's shoulders dropped a bit, and she pushed out her lower lip, looking down at her hands. "I'm sorry," she said quietly.

Chance let out a breath and then shook his head. "No, I'm sorry. You're right: I shouldn't snap."

Jamie didn't lift her gaze from her hands. "I just want to help. You're one of the first people around here that treats me like a person, not a blonde dye job and a bra size … and not one of Viper's stoolies, either."

"Stoolies?"

"Oh shut up. I saw that in a movie once," Jamie said, finally looking up at him with a little smile.

Chance couldn't help but smile back at her. "Yeah, well, I was raised right," he said with a shrug before he tipped his head her way. "I've got to go. I'm supposed to be meeting up with Mac to work on some measurements and stuff for a suit—"

"Go," she said with a smile. "That's huge. Go ahead. I'll talk to you later."

"See ya, Jamie," he said.


	9. Dating Sucks

**Chapter 9: "Dating Sucks"**

The next day at school, Elin was overly tired. She'd stayed up for too long the night before — a combination of stress, shopping, travel, debrief … all of it piled up had her ready to just … sleep for the day. But, as soon as she'd walked in, she'd been dragged down to the principal's office where she was informed that she had detention for the rest of the week for walking out of class early. She wasn't surprised. Especially since he'd initially said she would only have detention for one day _if _she handed her phone over for the next week, but Elin stood her ground.

"That's not for you to take, and I need it in case of emergencies," she said, arms crossed and flat refusing to comply before the man simply shook his head and amended her detention. She'd left his office with her chin up and her books under one arm before she headed off to class and crossed her arms in front of herself to use as a pillow. Not like she had a real use for most of the classes they offered there anyhow. She was seriously questioning why she'd decided to try public school, but either way, she was stubbornly set on finishing the semester.

After that, she hadn't decided. But Salem Center was boring as hell. And she could see that she was going to be in deep trouble as long as she kept her priorities how they were.

When she got out of her first hour class, yawning, naturally, Jacob caught up with her and tried to scoop her up, though he couldn't have been expecting her to twirl away from his grip before he could get a solid hold on her.

"Where were you yesterday?" he asked, looking a little disappointed. "I was hoping to talk to you, but … no show from the pretty brunette."

"I went shopping with my mother," she said with a shrug. "It was overdue, and she hates to do it, so when the chance came up … we went."

He smiled and nodded. "Sounds like a good enough time," he said with a smile. "But I had this whole thing planned out … I was going to take you out to coffee and ask you to the homecoming dance."

She didn't seem to realize what he was getting at. "That's too bad," she said. "Sounds like it could have been a decent afternoon."

Jacob laughed and reached out to grab her elbow and pull her around to face him. "Did you hear me? I tried to ask you to homecoming."

"No," Elin said, arching one eyebrow. "You said you were going to do that yesterday. You still haven't." She poked him in the chest with one finger. "This is why you're having trouble in English class. You need to say what you mean and mean what you say."

He grinned wider and took her hand in his. "You're right. I know. No one around here is a mind reader. Will you _please _be my date to homecoming?"

Elin tipped her head as she pretended to think it over. "I suppose," she said. "Seeing as I haven't gotten any better offers." Jacob gave her a disbelieving look until she started to chuckle. "I'm teasing. Yes, it sounds like fun. Don't get your ego bruised by a little picking," Elin said, still shaking her head.

* * *

"So, I heard you went to Paris," Christian said. He was sitting outside with Krissy, holding hands with her for the past ten minutes — which was a record for the two of them. He was getting a lot better at his control, even learning how to give people hallucinations. She particularly liked the one where they were walking on clouds.

"Yeah, it was a mission that turned into a girls' trip."

"Did you love it?"

Krissy couldn't help but smile and nod. "Shopping in Paris? Of course."

Christian smiled. "So, you've got clothes from Paris now."

"Dress for the dance," Krissy agreed.

His eyebrows shot up at that. "Just for me?"

"Um, no, for _me_," Krissy said, shaking her head at him. "Because I like to look great."

"You always look great," Christian pointed out, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles.

"Obviously," she said with a little smile.

He smiled and leaned in a bit closer. "Krissy," he said quietly. "I want to try something."

"What?"

But the next thing she knew, he had leaned in and kissed her. She was taken totally off-guard by the move, but it didn't last long enough for her to really even get into it. By the time he pulled back, she was blinking at him.

She couldn't actually see him at the moment. She was walking in the stars. But eventually, that started to fade, and when she came back down to Earth, he was still sitting in front of her, even holding her hand, though she hadn't been able to feel his hand until she came back. His hallucinations were that immersive.

"I guess…. I can not do that if that was too much," Christian said, watching her carefully.

"What?"

"The … the hallucinating," Christian said. "I know you were seeing stars; you weren't looking at me…"

"No, it's fine. I know you can't always control it…"

Christian smiled and leaned in again. "Can I try again?"

Krissy blinked at him and couldn't help but smile.

"I mean, practice makes perfect, right?" he said when she still hadn't said anything further.

"Are you saying I need _practice_?" Krissy asked, finally finding her voice again after he'd completely shocked her.

"No, of course not," Christian said quickly.

"That's right I don't," Krissy said, tipping her chin up.

Christian just smirked and leaned in a bit more before he kissed her again — and Krissy really didn't mind it as long as she kept her eyes closed so that she was a little more grounded.

* * *

James was working in the lab — putting the final touches on his new comm system. He was particularly pleased with it, since he found a way to ensure that all but the worst EMP's wouldn't interfere with communication. And so far, they were working even in usually blacked out zones, too. "This will count as a Merry Christmas _and _a Happy Birthday for you, Uncle Scott." He was smirking to himself as he finished closing up the last few devices — both slimmer and easier hidden than the old one to boot — when Vanessa made her way over and simply dropped down into the seat next to him.

"I need to make sure that our costumes match," Vanessa said. "Unless there aren't costumes … I can see it either way."

James tipped his head to the side and frowned to himself. "For what?"

"This big fall formal soiree. I'm planning to wear green to match my eyes — unless you wanted a costume theme? As I understand it, both are acceptable."

"You're assuming that we're going together."

"We are; I've seen it. You'll be dashing either way," she said with a grin before she took a hold of his arm. "I know you haven't really decided yet, but I am partial to the Viking look you were thinking of."

"I … haven't told anyone about that," James said, turning her way, but she was just nodding with her eyebrows raised.

"I know! But I've seen it both ways. Dapper suit or barbarian. You'll look amazing either way; I just want to know which way you're leaning," Vanessa said. "The prep time for me is very different depending."

"'Nessa …"

"Just trust me," she said, leaning her head on his shoulder. "I've seen it. You know I'm not wrong. This makes it go easier. Run with it. I played along with getting us in trouble with Mr. Stark."

James paused, not exactly liking how this was working out. She was a nice girl, yes. And very pretty. But this bossy angle … was very hard to deal with. "You gotta stop doing that," James said.

But she was still smiling at him, waiting for an answer, until she finally just grinned at him. "Suit it is, then. Wonderful." She kissed his cheek and swept off to the other side of the lab to grab him the rest of the supplies he needed to finish the hub for the comms, leaving James more than a little uneasy as he weighed it out.

He frowned deeper and then went back to work. He still had a few tests he wanted to run before he presented them to Scott. They had to be _perfect. _And it was a lot more important than dealing with Vanessa's pushiness.

* * *

When Chance got in that weekend, Krissy almost immediately pulled him aside, her hand on his arm as she teleported him to the roof so they could talk in private.

"Chance," she said, almost breathlessly. "I need your advice."

Chance's eyebrows shot up, and he was all but holding her up at the elbows as he watched her carefully. "What's going on?"

"I…" She ran her hands through her hair, both of them, which Chance knew meant that she was more than just a little upset. "Chance, I _really _like Sying."

"Great. So tell him that," he said, still not seeing what had her so worked up.

"But Christian asked me to the dance first," she continued on as if she hadn't even heard him. "And he kissed me and-"

"He what?"

"I don't even know if it's because he likes me or because he's trying to get a handle on his powers or what's going on," Krissy said, getting that last sentence out all at once.

"Kris…" Chance shook his head. "If you have to ask the question-"

"I know, I know," she said.

"Then what are you asking me for?" Chance asked. "Shouldn't you be asking Elin?"

"Yeah, because the girl going to homecoming with the football star because he's _there_ and it's something to _do _is really high on my list of 'how to not date guys who aren't serious'," Krissy said grumpily.

Chance stared at her for a moment before he shook his head lightly. "I didn't…."

"I know," Krissy said. "I know you think with everything ... with the two teams and with her going to the other school and with all of it …. Chance, you're an idiot."

Chance shook his head at her. "Thanks, Kris."

"You _like _her."

"Do you hear yourself?" he shot back. "What happened to 'I really like Sying'?"

Krissy stared at him and then hit him in the arm. "You can't do that!"

"I just did?" he pointed out. "So I'm pretty sure I can."

She let out all her breath through her cheeks. "I do. I really like him."

"So date him."

"I don't want to hurt him," she blurted out, her eyes wide, and Chance froze.

"What are you talking about?"

"Chance, you and I dated for ages. You were my first real don't get me wrong: I'm glad we're not … I mean, not like that — I just mean — I'm glad we can both move on and stay friends and — I just—"

"You're not ready for another boyfriend," Chance guessed.

"Not one like you," she said.

Chance stared at her. "Kris…"

"You know what I mean."

"I really don't."

She let out a frustrated noise and threw up her hands, pacing away a few steps before she spun back around to face him. "You were my whole _world_," she said at last. "You said — you said I can be intoxicating; well, you can too." She stepped in and put her finger in the center of his chest. "And I … I don't think I have it in me to do that again. Not right now. I need to be _me_."

"So you don't have to date anyone right now," Chance pointed out.

Krissy stared at him as if he was growing green hair out of his eyebrows, then shook her head. "My point… my point is that I _know _if I date Sying, it will be like that."

"So… you don't want to date him because you're in love with him," Chance said. "Yeah, Kris, that makes total sense."

Krissy glared at him for a second and then sniffed. "You're not helping."

"I don't know what to tell you, Kris. You want me to say you won't break his heart when you tell him you're picking someone else?"

"I'm not!" she said. "I just don't want to pick him _yet_."

"No offense, Krissy, but that's crap."

"Yeah, because you and Elin are so much—"

"This isn't about me and Elin!" Chance interrupted her.

Krissy glared at him harder. "I wanted to ask you how to explain to Sying — but, you know, I think I'm realizing now what my mistake was. Asking a _boy._"

"Yeah, because dating someone you're not in love with—"

"You did it all the time," she shot back. "How many girls did you date before me?"

"That doesn't—"

"Yes it does," she said. "And I guarantee you if I ask you about it, you'll say it was because you didn't want to ask Elin."

Chance glared at her and then shook his head and turned away. "She's dating someone else right now anyway."

"And you're in Canada — yeah, I know, I've heard all the arguments. They're still stupid."

"So's your thing about not wanting to date the guy you like."

Krissy let out a little noise and then teleported in front of him, though this time, her expression had softened a bit. "So we can both at least agree that we're in weird dating places together, right?"

He let out a breath and ran a hand over his face. "Yeah."

"You going to take someone to the dance?"

"I honestly hadn't thought about it, Kris."

"Okay." She reached out and rested her hand on his arm. "Yeah, you know what… dating sucks."

He couldn't help but smile. "If you ever figure out how it works, let me know, huh?"

"Will do." She smiled at him lightly. "Now. You've been spending all your time training and working on that suit, right? What say you take a break and we play video games and I totally wipe the floor with you?"

Chance grinned. "That sounds like a plan."

* * *

It had been nice to spend the weekend in Westchester; Chance wasn't going to lie. Team practice had gone well, even if it was still odd losing that dual leadership that he and Elin had going on. He felt like he was busier than ever… but playing with Krissy and then hanging out with Charlie all day helping her find a dress for her friend-date with Sying to the dance… that had helped a lot.

"What's got you in such a good mood?" Jamie asked as she came to sit down next to him at lunch — that was usually when he saw her, anyway.

"Jamie, I told you—"

"I _can _observe beyond my powers," Jamie said, waving her hand at him. "You didn't have the look of intense contemplation that you usually do. So unless you've reached the point of exhaustion where even that is gone because you can't _function _— in which case, I seriously suggest seeing someone for some help — you're in a good mood."

Chance watched her for a second before he couldn't help but smirk and shake his head, glancing back down at the book he was supposed to be writing an essay on — which he was reading while he ate lunch. "Alright, Sherlock. Well-deduced."

"So," she said, reaching over to steal the apple he had in front of him to bite into it and smile at him. "What has you in such a good mood?"

"I just like being home with my family," Chance said.

She nodded and leaned over slightly to see what he was reading, then made a face. "Oh, you're so behind."

"Thanks, Jamie."

She nodded with a little smile. "I'll leave you alone. You gotta catch up. But Chance…" She bit her lip, and the pause was long enough that he looked up at her. "I was wondering… you don't have a date to the fall formal, do you?"

Chance didn't even bother to hide his shock as he stared at her. "I — no—"

"I was wondering if you'd go with me?"

Chance just kept staring at her before he finally seemed to get his feet underneath him. "I'm… flattered…"

"It's just that it's our senior year, you know? We're not getting another fall formal, and I've never been to one since Gerry, and I thought, you know, I'd really like to, and you're a nice guy, and you're honestly really cute and sweet and—"

"Jamie," Chance cut in before she could get too carried away, holding up a hand between them. He let out a breath and smiled lightly. "You're right. This is our last fall formal." He nodded. "Yeah, sure. I'll take you. Do you have a dress or a costume picked out or…"

"Anything that's not green," she said with a smile. "There's a nice pink dress…"

"I'll just wear basic black and white then," he said. "You find what you like."

She positively beamed at him and then squeezed his hand. "Thank you," she said before she all but flounced off, leaving him to _try _to focus on the book he was supposed to be reading — though that was going to be hard when he still wasn't entirely sure what had just happened or how.


	10. Our Three Favorite Criminals

****THIS CHAPTER COMES WITH A MASSIVE TRIGGER WARNING FOR AN ATTEMPTED RAPE**

**SERIOUSLY, BE WARNED. IF THIS IS TRIGGERING TO YOU, PLEASE SKIP THE MIDDLE SECTION****

* * *

**Chapter 10: "Our Three Favorite Criminals"**

* * *

Everyone back in Westchester was all curled up with the movie that Chloe had picked out. Well, most of them, anyway. A few of the boys had decided to run a pickup basketball game, and Cody was loudly complaining about how Chance was only taller than him because he was older — all of that.

Krissy was sitting next to Sying at the moment, and when she felt their hands brush and her heart jump into her throat, she grabbed his hand and leaned over to whisper in his ear, "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Sying's eyebrows shot up at the fact that she had hold of his hand, but he followed her out all the same, grinning despite himself.

Krissy teleported them both up to the roof, which was her favorite place when she wanted privacy. She still had a hold of his hand, and he couldn't stop smiling — until she gave his hand a squeeze and stepped back. "Sying, I … I don't think we should go out anymore."

His smile fell entirely as he stared at her. "What?"

"I don't think we should go out on any more dates," she said. "Not — not right now."

"Because of Christian," Sying said, his entire expression falling.

"Not… entirely."

Sying watched Krissy for a long moment. She was shifting her weight from foot to foot and was biting her lip, her tail dragging on the floor behind her. She was obviously upset. "I don't… understand," he said at last.

"I… it's not Christian," Krissy said. "I mean, yeah, I'm going to date him, but that's not—" She took a big breath and let it out again. "I like you, Sying. A lot."

He stared at her. "Now I really don't understand."

She bit her lip again, her tail hardly moving behind her. "Sying, if I date you right now… that's it. I'd want it to be serious. And I can't be serious right now. I just came off a relationship when I spent years being so tied up in it that I almost killed myself trying to cross an ocean." She shook her head. "I don't want that right now. I just … Christian … I just don't want to be alone. But you are … I could fall head over heels for you, Sying. And I don't want to. I need to catch my breath."

Sying was totally stunned into silence, staring at Krissy with wide eyes.

She took a deep breath and chewed on her lip some more. "I'm not … I'm not saying that ... " She moved as if to step forward and then seemed to think better of it. "The timing is wrong, that's all," she said. "And I don't want to hurt you—"

"Yeah," he said, cutting in and shaking his head. "No… I get it. I… I don't get it, but …" He shook his head. "I hope you have fun at the dance," he said before he simply slipped off, leaving Krissy feeling downright horrible as she stood on the roof and watched him leave.

* * *

It was after a football game that Elin finally agreed to go celebrate a win with Jacob and his friends. It seemed like half the school was there, and she was laughing to herself at the way that most of the teenagers were drinking cheap beer and falling all over themselves. But she knew that they thought this was the height of rebellion, so she went along with it — laughing harder at how quickly they all seemed to get tipsy. But Jacob wasn't really joining in with that part of the festivities, even if he was trying to get her to drink.

"Not really my thing," she said for what felt like the hundredth time, and finally, he seemed to get the hint.

"Then we should probably leave the giant drinking party," he suggested with a bright smile before he put his arm around her shoulders and led her away from the crowd. "We'll find something better to do."

They headed out, and it wasn't too long before she recognized some of the side roads — far removed from where most people drove. They headed off onto a dirt road that she knew overlooked a local lake, and after he found his preferred parking spot, he killed the engine and the lights and turned his attention to her.

Elin wasn't surprised when Jacob moved closer for a kiss, though she wasn't exactly prepared when he pushed her back until she was against the door of his truck. He simply hadn't been that aggressive in the past.

But Elin _liked _Jacob, and she didn't want to stop him when he, too, was so clearly ready for more than just a chaste kiss _and _in an infectiously good mood. And it felt good to be _wanted _like that. So she _didn't _stop him as he pressed her into the seats, and she didn't even stop him when he slipped his hand up her shirt, though she had hesitated at that. But when Jacob's hand went up her _skirt_, he'd definitely gone too far. She broke the kiss and tried to sit up. "Woah, stop."

"Come on," Jacob said in a pleading tone. "We've been dating for a _long time_."

"Not that long," she corrected him. "And I … don't want to do _that_. I don't know you well enough for that." She started pushing back, but he was much stronger than she was, and he had already pushed his way over her, blowing the angles she'd have used to force him away.

"Come on; we're just having a little fun," Jacob said, going back to kissing her neck and ignoring her request for him to stop — promising her they'd have a good time even as she asked him to knock it off. While he was pushing forward, Elin was trying to find a way to get back from him without any hard feelings, though that thought disappeared as he trapped one of her hands behind her back, pinning it at a painful angle. He'd managed to grab onto her other wrist and held it down against the seat as he let his free hand roam. And as he started pulling at her clothes, she began to panic.

"You need to stop," Elin said in a shaky voice, but he responded by pressing in closer on her.

"No, just relax," he said in a hoarse voice before he pushed her skirt up past her waist. "Trust me, gorgeous. You're gonna love it."

"_Stop_," Elin said, struggling to get away from him. "No!"

He was panting heavily in her ear as he kept pressing her down. Elin struggled harder to pull her hands loose, squirming to try to get away from him as much as possible. So she thought her point had gotten through when he very suddenly stopped and turned his head to look her in the eyes.

"Do you _really _think I'm going to let you hit me?" Jacob said, getting Elin to positively freeze. "You owe me, beautiful," he said. "If you fight me, you're just gonna end up hurting. So quit being such a little bitch and be _nice._" She started to panic, and he didn't make it much further before she threw her head forward and bashed him in the face.

It was enough that she got room to pull her arm free from behind her back, and when she did, she popped her claws right under his nose. "Let go of my arm," she warned. "Or I will cut your hands and anything else that's trying to touch me _off_." She was positively shaking in rage as he finally backed off, staring at her claws with wide eyes.

"You… didn't tell me … _you have claws?_" Jacob gasped out as he put some distance between them. "Why didn't you tell me that?"

"It was — and _is _— none of your damn business," Elin growled out. She sat up and reached over to yank the keys from the ignition.

"You can't just … shove _claws _in someone's face — hey, you _can't take my keys!"_ He reached for her, and she planted her foot in the center of his chest and pushed him across the cab.

"I can, I will, and let me tell you how freakin' lucky you are right now. You're mad about _claws _in your face when you were going to—" Elin could hardly think for the ringing in her ears with how angry she was. "You know what? Forget about _me _for a minute — now that you know what I could have done to you, you self-centered … _jackass_."

"I didn't know you were a _mutant_," Jacob said, looking somewhere between horrified and disgusted suddenly.

"Hey. If you have any brains in your head, you'll shut the hell up right now. Any more stupid comes out of you, and I'll go ahead and clue my _father _in on what you tried to pull," Elin snarled out, still visibly shaking. "You have _no idea _how lucky you are that I haven't hit my panic button."

She opened the door and climbed out of the truck, never taking her eyes off of him as she did so.

"You think I'm afraid of your old man?" Jacob shouted, crossing the bench seat and climbing out after her, looking furious.

"You should be," Elin said, straightening up as she stood her ground finally. "I can't believe I have to point it out to _anyone_, what with the claws? But _Wolverine _is my dad." She reached down and cut the valve stems off of both tires on that side of the truck and threw his keys into the bushes. "Take _one step_ after me, and I'll let him know what you tried to do to me."

She held his gaze for a long moment as her growl echoed the clearing, and then, she retracted her claws and turned to slip off into the forest, barely holding back from breaking down crying. It was only a few miles between there and the edge of the Xavier property. That was nothing. And for as much as she wanted to let go and cry … she figured she could use the fresh air and time to herself.

* * *

When Elin finally got in, it wasn't quite twenty minutes past everyone's curfew that Scott had set, and most of the oldest kids were still up, as was her brother, who was frowning deeply as soon as he saw her cut across the entryway.

"Elin," James said, getting to his feet. "Did you _walk_?"

"I know, I'm late," Elin replied, not answering his question as she rushed for the stairs with bright red cheeks.

James took about half of a heartbeat before he rushed off behind her, shadowing her every step. He didn't say anything, especially when he could smell the salt on her cheeks and how incredibly upset she was. When she got to her room, she finally turned to look him in the face. "I'm fine," she swore.

"You're a terrible liar," James replied, still frowning. "And even if you _were _any good at it — _which you're not _— I could smell that whopper from a mile away."

"Let it go, James," she said before she gave her little brother a kiss on the cheek and closed the door in his face.

He took a step back, mouth open, as he stared at her closed door. She'd _never _done that before. But … the scents he got from being that close … he could feel the growl rising up in the back of his throat, and he forced himself to take a step back as his hands flexed into fists.

James closed his eyes and cycled through his breathing like his father had taught him, but … he couldn't let it go. Not when Elin was _that _upset.

Very slowly, he turned around, a stony expression set on his features as he calmly made his way down the stairs, past the Summers boys on their way back from basketball. He ignored Chance, who looked totally taken aback by his expression before he rushed after him, and he ignored Cody as he walked toward the front door, counting his breathing as he went.

James barely acknowledged the rest of the gathered kids in the living room as he headed out, the scent on Elin's collar stuck in his nose — and he wanted to find the owner. _Now. _

"Who're you going after?" Chance asked him outright when he caught up to him, and when James didn't pause, he just kept following.

"We're not going to stop you — just curious," Cody added. "We can help."

James glanced at the two of them, his jaw locked down tight. "You really have to ask?"

The two Summers boys glanced at each other. "Yeah," they said together.

"I mean, whoever it was screwed up bad, but was it … I don't know. Someone go after Kari?" Cody asked.

James stared back at him for a moment, shook his head, and nosed back down the trail. "It was _Jacob_."

Cody glanced at Chance with his eyebrows high, and Chance swallowed, his jaw locked, before both of them took off a little faster after James.

James was into the treeline, backtracking on his sister's scent trail, when his cell phone went off with a text from Kari. _What are you doing? _

He barely slowed as he replied: _I've got my phone. Tell them I know I'm grounded. _

With that, he stashed his phone and started moving faster until he was nearly going at a run — the trail was that easy to follow — as he wove down the twisted trail. Chance had just called out for him to slow down as they crested a ridge, but James had no plans to do so — if not for the fact that Elin's jacket was lying at the foot of a tree nearby. He almost skidded to a stop when he smelled it, and when he went over to pick it up, he got a much stronger whiff of the guy he was after.

James glanced over at Chance and took a moment to let him catch his breath. "I might need you to make sure I don't kill someone," James said finally as he closed his eyes and visibly went to work, concentrating on scenting out where the trail went — hoping it was close enough that he wouldn't have to track much longer.

"Cody's good at that," Chance said, not touching him but close enough to let him know he was going to stand by him.

"Oh sure, _I'm _the responsible one," Cody grumbled. Both of the boys had clearly caught on to what the hunt was for after seeing Elin's jacket, and they looked murderous.

James took another moment or two before he shook his hands out hard and started to move forward again. It wasn't very far beyond that when even the Summers boys heard Jacob's voice as he was complaining and swearing about the _two _flat tires he was trying to deal with. James dropped the jacket on the edge of the parking area and started to stride forward purposefully, his gaze locked onto Jacob. He wasn't growling, but he wasn't exactly speaking either — and when he got close enough that Jacob heard the gravel crunching underfoot, the creep stood up with a scowl to look down on James.

"Oh that's just typical. Lying bitch steals my keys, slashes my tires, now I've got _you _to deal with like I did something wrong."

James' eyes widened a hair before he positively launched himself at Jacob. He didn't even say a word back to him until he had him on the ground and was pounding the daylights out of him. "She … didn't… say… anything," James snarled out with every punch.

At some point, Jacob reached up to try to dislodge James, but as soon as his hand touched him, James grabbed his hand, dislocated his thumb, and broke three fingers before he cranked his wrist backward at an unnatural angle. All while not breaking his rhythm with his other hand.

The two Summers boys that had come along shared a look as Jacob started screaming, but Chance still didn't step in until it was clear that Jacob had had enough — after the guy was lying still and just trying to cover his head from the blows James was raining down on him and whimpering with every hit. "James," he said, making sure James heard him first as he came up. "Hey, come on. You taught him a lesson," he said. "Make sure he lives to remember it."

"Gettin' off light," James said, half out of breath and clearly still furious as he let Chance talk a little sense into him.

"Yeah." Chance didn't argue it but put his hand out so James could see it before he put it on his arm. "I agree." He helped James to his feet, but before they could head back, the bright red and blue lights of a police car lit up the clearing, followed quickly by the blip of a siren headed their way, and the three boys shared a look.

James stopped where he was and glared around into the dark. "Where the hell were they when this jerk was trying to screw my sister?"

"Well, this is what happens when you kick my uncle off the force. It all goes to hell," Chance joked, trying to get James a little calmer in case the cops were particularly stupid.

When the car got closer, James was the first to simply hold his hands at shoulder level to make sure they could see he wasn't armed, though he didn't go so far as to claim he didn't do anything. Not when it was obvious that simply wasn't the case. "_All_ on _you, _guys," James said.

"Smart," Cody said his way with a smirk as the cops took in the scene. It was pretty obvious that James had been the one to deliver the beatdown, given the blood on his knuckles.

"You boys got any ID?" The first cop asked, shining his light in each of their faces as his partner called for backup and drew his weapon.

"Only a passcard for Stark Tower. Otherwise, I'm too young," James said. "My name is James Howlett. I don't have a record."

"Chance Summers," Chance said, holding his hands up. "I have a license in my pocket," he added as Cody explained that he, too, was too young for ID — though he actually looked it, still skinnier and with a younger-looking face than the other two.

They directed the boys over to the police car and had James put his hands on the hood, quickly getting down to searching him before Chance took a similar position at the trunk. Cody got a quick pat down, since, in addition to being obviously the youngest, he also looked the least threatening of the group. While the cops asked the boys their questions, it was apparent very quickly when the second cop car showed up that they were in deep trouble. Chance could hear from where he was that, already, the police didn't buy that James didn't have verifiable ID, and after hearing the story that the 'victim' was telling, they didn't even hesitate to put James in cuffs — and moments later placed him under arrest.

"He's fifteen — he's a minor," Cody said, though he was still apart from the other two and glaring daggers at Jacob as the cops gave him back his phone.

"He doesn't _look _fifteen," the officer told him, shaking his head. "And he beat up the eighteen-year-old football player pretty well. That just doesn't line up."

"Hey. Age means crap when the guy manhandled his sister," Cody insisted, arms crossed.

The cop looked concerned and frowned toward Jacob. "Did she file a report?" He was pulling out his radio as he asked the question. "Because I can bring him in right now if there was a complaint."

Cody paused. "...No," he had to admit. "She just… ran," he added slowly.

"And you three came back here to teach him a lesson," the cop said, putting his radio back already. He let out a sigh and nodded. "I wish that was good enough, but your friend assaulted the guy in the truck." He gestured to the truck with the two flat tires. "If we'd found a knife on him, we'd charge him with the damage to the tires too, honestly."

Cody still had his arms crossed and clearly didn't like the situation. "I can honestly say that you wouldn't find a knife on him — and that they were like that when we got here." He shrugged. "The guy's a jerk. We're not the only ones who think so, apparently."

The cop let out a sigh. "How did you three get here anyhow?" he asked, looking around. "I don't see a car anywhere."

"We walked," Cody said.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that," the cop said.

"What?" Cody said. "It's not that cold out."

"No, but it's at least two miles between here and where you live," the cop told him. "That's a long walk to _not _kick the crap out of someone." He shook his head again. "You got someone you can call for a ride? Because if not, we're giving you a ride home."

Cody nodded. "I'll call my folks, thanks. My dad would have a heart attack if you drove me home." He held his phone up. "Do you mind if I… I'm just going a few feet this way."

"Be my guest," the cop said, keeping half an eye on him as his partner questioned Jacob, trying to determine if Chance was going to end up in handcuffs too.

"Good," Jacob said, his chin jutted out as much as he could when the cop told him they were arresting James. "Put him where he belongs."

"You really gonna pull that crap in front of the cops, you moron?" Chance said, his chin jutted out just as far. "You're the one they should be locking up."

"For what?" Jacob called back. "_Bleeding _too much?"

Chance glared at him — looking every bit like his dad right before an optic burst, so Jacob was fairly lucky in that regard that Chance was the one Summers boy without powers. "Oh yeah, the attempted _assault _had nothing to do with it, creep."

"What proof have you got?" Jacob called out, sounding entirely justified. "Her lying? I didn't hurt her one bit. She cut the date short and took off!"

"You're damn lucky she didn't do more than just _leave _after what you pulled," Chance shot back, completely furious.

"Alright, you need to calm down, or you'll be sharing a booking with your little buddy," the cop that had been talking to him said as the other police car flipped off its lights and started to take off with James in the back.

"You guys... " Chance shook his head as he at least _tried _to calm down, though considering what he knew had happened with Elin, that just wasn't happening. "This creep gets away with — you _know _he's — come _on._"

"All due respect, but he didn't get away with anything by the look of him," one cop said reasonably. "He got the crap kicked out of him, and I'm pretty sure any college ball career he might have had ahead of him is gone, kid."

Chance tipped his head toward the guy and frowned. "Yeah. Well. Karma."

"Unfortunately, dealing out the karma yourself is illegal," the cop replied. "And comes with charges in this case."

"Oh come on," Chance said, though he was quiet after that — at least long enough to hear what Jacob was trying to pull _now_.

"Maybe they threw the knife," Jacob was saying to the officer he was speaking to. "But one of them had to have cut the tires, because it wasn't like that before. How else would I have gotten out here?" He tipped his chin toward Chance. "It was probably him. He's the one that called off his little friend."

"_Oh come on_," Chance said again, glaring at the guy. "You call _her _a liar, you slimy little pervert?"

"They'll both get what's coming to them," Jacob barked back.

"You come _anywhere near her _again and you'll be losing more than tires," Chance practically snarled at him.

"_Alright,_" the cop nearest Chance shouted, blocking Jacob from Chance's view. "Your parents can come get you at the station." His partner closed the cuffs around Chance's wrists as he began to read him his rights, just in time for Scott to pull up to the scene.

"Hi, Dad," Cody said dryly as Scott made his way over, looking totally thunderous as he took in the scene.

"_What_ is going on?"

"Sir," one of the cops said, holding up his hand to signal for Scott to slow down and keep his distance. "There was an assault, and these boys were involved somehow, though to be honest, I think they're more witnesses than they are suspects."

Scott frowned deeper as he looked around. "Where's James?" he asked.

"The other one? Once we get him all through processing and figure out who he is, we'll make sure you can post bail," the cop replied.

"We _told _him who we are; they just don't believe us," Cody said.

The cop gestured to Jacob, who had refused to take an ambulance ride into town. "As you can see, it's a little hard to believe that a fifteen-year-old managed that on a young man his size."

"You clearly didn't recognize the name," Scott said, shaking his head. "James Howlett — it's the same name as his _father,_ who teaches at our school. I'm sure you've heard of him. He goes by 'Wolverine'."

The cop paused, and his eyebrows went up. "I'm … not entirely sure that'll help his case, to be honest."

"You wanted to know how a fifteen-year-old could do this damage. Now. Are you going to continue to treat him like an adult or acknowledge that he's a minor?" Scott asked, his arms crossed.

"I'll radio it in," the cop replied. "But there are still protocols they'll have to run, and I'm afraid one of his parents will have to come get him."

"I'll let his father know," Scott said with a sharp nod. "These boys don't attack people for no reason, officer."

The cop nodded and let out a weary sigh. "I'm sure. If they did, we'd have a record on them. But—" he took a step closer to Scott and let his voice drop lower. "They said this guy assaulted some girl, but … if she doesn't file a report, we can't do a thing about it."

Scott looked even more thunderous at that as he turned to Cody, who put up both hands. "That… is true. Ask James." He tapped the side of his nose with his index finger, and Scott narrowed his eyes before he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I'll call him," he said, already starting to pace away — though the call lasted maybe thirty seconds before he turned back around to address the _rest _of the problem.

As Chance was put in the back of the cop car, the cop nearest Scott held up a hand. "He's under arrest, but he won't see the cell," the cop assured him. "He was throwing around threats in custody … and we can't have that. You can follow us down if you like, but … it's strictly a catch and release."

Scott frowned toward the car but finally nodded once at the officer. "We'll follow you," he said, putting a hand on Cody's shoulder to steer him toward his own car before things could get any worse.

By some miracle, after Scott called Logan to know what was happening, Logan managed to beat them to the police station — likely because the Summers were held up while one of the cops tried to convince Jacob into pressing charges — not that it sounded much like he had any problem with it.

"I've got Murdock on it," Logan said when Scott and Cody walked in the door. He had his arms crossed, and he looked as if he hadn't blinked in long enough of a stretch that the cop behind the desk was obviously nervous.

"Good," Scott said.

It wasn't long after that, though, when Jacob came in with the cops too — seeing as he wanted to press charges, and when he walked through the door, there was a visible shift in the room as Logan turned his way and watched him with a deep glare. But that seemed to be enough to catch the kid's attention and scare the daylights out of him.

Logan didn't move — and he was breathing evenly and shallowly enough that he looked perfectly still — and when the cop tried to direct Jacob into his office, the teenager stopped in his tracks and seemed to reconsider things.

"If you'd like to sign a few papers, Mr. Summers," the desk cop said, grateful that Logan wasn't glaring at him anymore. "We can get things moving."

Scott finally turned toward the desk cop and nodded. "Yes, let's."

There was a soft discussion at the cop's desk with Jacob … that was somewhat echoed with Scott. "I'm sure that any charges would be dropped if your son would simply apologize. We already spoke with um … your friend about the other boy, but …"

"But?" Scott said with one eyebrow raised. "Is he planning to press charges or not? It's a simple enough question if his story has any weight whatsoever."

"Honestly, sir, the officers on the scene rolled up to find one boy bloodied on the ground and another standing around with his fists covered in blood. It's a no-brainer."

Scott kept the single eyebrow raised. "And my son?" he pointed out. "What about the rest of the story, officer? Have you spoken to my associate or his son about what happened to Miss Howlett?" It was clear he was being as polite as it was possible to be, but Cody knew that was just a sign that his dad wanted to take someone's head off.

"I'm afraid if the young lady won't come forward, there isn't anything we can do," the cop said. "But even if she does, that won't change matters for the young Mr. Howlett. He still beat the boy down."

"Yes, I understand that."

"It's alright, Slim," Logan drawled out, his focus still on Jacob. "Consequences for everything."

Scott met Logan's gaze for only a second before he nodded and turned back to the desk cop. "Right. Well, at least I'd like to leave with _one _of them," he said pointedly.

"They'll both be going home," the cop assured him, though a moment later, Logan smirked to himself and turned back Scott's way. The other officer was entirely frustrated at Jacob's sudden reluctance to press charges.

"Leave it to the lawyer," Logan said low to Scott. "This is over with for now — unless I hear something from _Elin _that changes my mind."

Scott nodded at that and settled in to wait, though he got a bit more agitated when he saw Chance again and the police more or less turned him over to his dad. "What were you _thinking_?" he all but hissed out at Chance, who looked down at his hands.

"I know, Dad," he said quietly, but he didn't look sorry in the least, his mouth pressed into a thin line and a muscle working in his jaw.

James wasn't too far behind Chance, and he looked every bit as livid as Logan did, though when he saw his father, he dropped his gaze and relaxed his shoulders without a word spoken.

James and Logan went in Logan's Jeep; both of the Summers boys went with Scott. So it wasn't until they were on the road that Scott broke his silence again. "Did you even _consider_—"

"Dad, the guy put his hands on Elin," Chance cut in.

Scott's eyes narrowed. "This is _just _like those boys in combat class. When are you going to learn when _not _to fight?"

Chance tipped up his chin. "You want to tell me you wouldn't lay into anyone that put their hands on Mom? Or K? Or Charlie? Or Jubilee? Or—"

"That is _not _the point."

"I think it is!" Chance shot back. "I think if it had been you, you'd do the same thing, and you know it!"

"You're seventeen, Chance. If you'd done any worse, they'd try you as an adult — and you _just _worked so hard to get onto two different teams. You have your whole life ahead of you — don't—"

"He put his hands on _Elin_, Dad," Chance broke in sharply.

Scott turned to face him and settled into a glare before he let out a breath. "You're going to write a long letter to your mother apologizing for upsetting her, and then another one apologizing to Mac — he _just _told the government up there how qualified you are, and you're doing a damn good job trying to prove him wrong."

Chance opened his mouth to argue and then closed it again and leaned back against the seat. "Fine."

* * *

When James and Logan got back to the Institute, Elin was waiting at the foot of the stairs — clearly just having taken a long shower and then redressed in the baggiest clothes she owned. Her mother had already told her what had happened, and where the boys were, and that she needed to fill them in on what had happened, since clearly, all of them had jumped to one conclusion or another.

But when the first thing out of her mouth was an apology followed up with "This was all my fault." Logan just started growling, not buying it for a minute.

"Come on," Logan said, pulling her over to himself gently. "You're gonna tell us what happened. The boys can leave."

"Guy was a jerk, Elin — no way is that your fault. He was born stupid," Chance said her way.

But Elin shook her head and hugged herself a little tighter before Logan steered her down the hallway.

Scott opened the door for the two of them and then held up his hand for the boys. "No. Wait in the living room. This should be as private as possible."

"Dad—"

Cody grabbed Chance's arm and nodded. "Yeah, okay, Dad. But we want to know what's up, okay?"

"Fine," Chance grumbled, jerking his arm out of Cody's grasp as the boys headed off.

Elin closed her eyes once the door was shut and Scott was seated before she quietly and emotionlessly went through her side of the story in more detail than both Logan and Scott thought she'd consider sharing. When she was done, she cleared her throat and took a deep breath to steady herself. "I already told Mom. She said to lay it out for you," Elin said quietly. "And I think I shouldn't … I don't know that I should be on the team. For a while anyhow."

Scott stared at her for a moment before he shook his head. "What are you talking about?" he said. "You haven't done a thing wrong. There's no reason to leave."

"Are you sure?" she said suddenly, staring back at him and looking on the verge of crying — showing all her cards as _months _of support from friends and family seemed to go up in smoke. "Because this _keeps happening_, so I must be doing _something _to—" She couldn't quite finish her sentiment before her voice choked out and the tears slipped over her lashes.

Scott let out a breath and looked toward Logan for a moment before he abandoned all pretense of professionalism and simply crouched down at her eye level to where she was sitting and leaning on her father. "Elin, I wish we lived in a world where the simple fact that you are beautiful didn't call down the worst instincts in some men who were never taught self-control or respect, but we do. That's not your fault; it's theirs. For the same reasons it's not your fault if people hate you for being a mutant or for having the family you do or for being an X-Man. Some people are just wired to think they have a right to take what they want and hurt anyone who believes otherwise, and it's just _wrong_. And I'm sorry that you have to deal with it." He took a deep breath and rested his hand on her shoulder. "If I could make it right for you, I'd do whatever it took. You know that, right?"

She still looked miserable, but she very minutely nodded and then leaned into her dad deeper. Logan was clearly well beyond stringing words together in a meaningful way other than the whisper-quiet 'got your back' that Scott barely caught.

Scott nodded and stayed where he was for a long moment before he finally went back to his seat, though he was watching the two of them still. "You're still the team leader for the junior squad," he said. "And they will continue to follow you anywhere. This changes nothing. That sorry excuse for a human being doesn't get to change anything. At all."

Scott finally simply left the two of them alone and stepped out to deal with the boys — all three of them — while Logan tried to ease Elin out of the self doubt she was drowning herself in, though he did manage to catch the tiniest of giggles from her when Logan promised very quietly not to kill the kid. _Tonight_.


	11. The Fallout

**Chapter 11: "The Fallout"**

Elin wasn't in her room for very long after getting settled out — with Logan making all sorts of promises that it would be handled — before Sying knocked gently on the door. He had his head tipped to the side and a sort of frown on his face as he watched her. "Okay. I hide in the barn for all of, what, a couple hours? And the world falls apart. What is going on?"

"No one can handle things without you around," Elin said before she sat down on her bed cross-legged.

"Clearly," he said with a little smile before he hopped up next to her. "What happened? Seriously. You look…" He trailed off a bit. "So, who am I sending to the hospital?"

"James already took care of it," Elin said. "Police were involved. He and Chance have a record now. Or … at least an arrest." She looked up at him. "It's just … stupid."

Sying stared at her. "They… and the cops… what?" He shook his head, clearly shocked. "I think… you might need to run that by me again."

"Jacob was _not _a nice guy," Elin said flatly. "And I ended up popping my claws on him."

For a second, Sying was quiet, before he completely failed at biting back a hiss. "Okay, what hospital is he staying at? I can live on Hala; they can't extradite me there."

"Don't, please," she said quietly. "I already know that Dad has detailed plans in place."

"You're my _aunt_," Sying said. "I care about you! I'm allowed to make threats too!"

"Well, if I ever run into him — or if you ever run into him — feel free, but as far as seeking the jerk out?" She shrugged. "Not worth it."

Sying shook his head and then reached over to give Elin a quick squeeze. "I'm so sorry. I really hoped this would be good fun for you."

"I should have known better."

Sying shook his head at her. "It's not your fault," he said. "It's never your fault if people trod on your heart, okay? Even if it hurts like hell," he added a bit quieter.

"I dunno," she said, matching his tone. "How long is it acceptable to not be my fault?" She shook her head lightly. "I'm sure sooner or later … I had to have done _something _for this to keep happening."

Sying dipped his head down slightly to catch her gaze. "So… how much of me getting kidnapped all the time is my fault?" he asked her gently. "I mean, sooner or later, you'd think I'd learn that I shouldn't ever have any time to myself. Or go anywhere alone. Or relax for half a second. Right?"

"It's a little different, though," Elin said. "Not like you're giving the kidnappers your phone number and kissing them."

"I sorta did," Sying pointed out. "Not… the Russians. But I sorta did."

"The one creepy Shi'ar doesn't count."

"And the one creepy football player doesn't count," Sying said. He took a deep breath. "Look, I'm not going to sugarcoat it. You and Nolan… that went on way too long, and you knew it, and I was glad when you broke up with him. That one _was _bad taste. This one is your Andri'i. Not your fault. He took advantage. End of story."

"Still doesn't feel like it was one-sided, though," she admitted before she pulled her knees up and wrapped her arms around them.

Sying watched her for a moment and then let out a breath and scooted over to rest his head on her shoulder. "I know," he said quietly. "But it's still not your fault. Your mom hammered that in my head pretty good a couple years back — that it doesn't matter if you kissed the loser. You didn't give permission for anything else."

"Yeah, Dad, Mom, Scott, Chance … James. You're all in the same boat," she said.

"I know you feel like it's your fault," he said. "And you're welcome to come hide with me for a while if you want. You're allowed to feel crummy."

"Yeah, Dad gave me a free pass — kinda," she said. "But he did that thing … the one that makes it sound like not taking the break is the way to handle it?"

"Yeah, well, screw it," Sying said. "If he complains… you were hiding with me because Krissy and I aren't seeing each other anymore."

"Why not?" she asked, honestly surprised by it.

Sying leaned his head back until his head was resting on the wall. "She likes me."

"Then, what's the problem?"

"Apparently, that's the problem," Sying said.

Elin frowned and watched him for a moment. "Oh."

"I didn't… really… understand it," Sying said, letting out a sigh.

"No, I suppose you wouldn't," she agreed.

"Do you?" he asked, picking his head up again.

"Maybe?" she said, shrugging. "I think she's just scared."

"Of _me_?"

"Of not getting her dashing happy ending if something goes wrong."

Sying shook his head. "That doesn't make sense to me," he said after a long pause. "She… she said she'd want to get serious with me, and that was why she wanted to stick with Christian and just… have fun, I guess."

"She and Chance broke up … _whenever _… and then kept hanging out all the time. She hasn't had time to rebound. This guy? He means nothing." She tipped her head a little. "He's a palate cleanser."

Sying blew out all his breath. "Thanks," he said at last.

"That's my best guess without talking to her," Elin said. "Because she did _not _talk to me about this. Not since your ice cream date anyhow."

Sying nodded. "Yeah… you're probably right, though. You're pretty much the closest thing to a handbook on her. 'Elin's Guide to Dramatic Purple Elves'."

"I'm sorry," Elin said. "She'll get bored with this guy."

"You said that about Chance," he said. "I mean… you were right. But I don't want to wait another three years." He swallowed and bit his lip. "Elin, I don't know what to do. I can't just move on when I know… I'm crazy about her, and I always have been, and I can't just walk away from that!"

"Well … either it will work out or it won't," Elin said with an understanding tone. "But please don't just wait for her to come around. You still have to live."

Sying snuggled her a bit more with his head on her shoulder. "I don't want to … one day she'll come around, and I don't want to be dating someone else when that happens. I'd be a liar and a hypocrite if I did anyway because I'd drop her in a second if Krissy asked, and that's why Charlie and I aren't dating anymore…"

"So don't date then," Elin said. "It's not like there aren't a million things you want to learn."

"True," Sying said. "And I am old enough now to take Ael on a few trips we've been meaning to go on."

"There you go," Elin replied. "A plan in place to have fun with your brother and be so amazing that the sun can't compete."

Sying grinned up at her and then let out a little laugh. "Alright, but you need to do the same thing," he said.

"I tried to quit the team."

"Seeing as you said 'tried,' I'm going to assume that didn't actually work."

"I was not aware that Scott has veto power?"

"Well that was your mistake," he said with a smirk.

"But I'm going to think about it. I think … if this jerk pulls something, I'm going to have to make it known who I am at school," Elin said.

Sying nodded. "I know you've been enjoying the low-profile thing, but honestly? I'm glad to hear it. Dad's always saying I need to embrace being different — whether it's being half-human on Hala or half-Kree here. Kinda think you should do the same thing."

"Yeah … that's kinda how Dad put it — in his own way, though it was more like 'screw 'em'."

"I feel like my way is more about loving yourself than it is about spite," Sying teased.

"Um … my father was not being spiteful," she said with a smirk. "It was more of a 'do your thing and don't care what anyone says' kind of angle … with less … words."

"Yeah, I know," he said, then reached over to give her another squeeze. "Whatever you need, you know I'll drop everything to help, right?"

"I know." She was once again quiet about everything and gave him a small smile. "But it's late," she said. "And I've kept everyone up too late tonight."

"I really don't mind," he promised, even though he was standing up. "I was hiding anyway. Not like I had anything better to do." He leaned over and kissed her cheek. "Love you, Aunt Elin."

"Love you too," she replied, leaning into him for just a moment before he gave her another quick squeeze and headed out so she could have some peace and quiet.

* * *

The whole weekend down to New York had pretty much been the most trouble Chance had been in with his dad that he could remember, so when he got back across the border to school - with a load of undone homework and a bad mood — he really wasn't happy about being almost immediately pulled out of class to go down to the liaison's office.

"What … _happened _stateside, Mr. Summers?" the calm-sounding, meek-looking man asked. In fact, this was the most emotion Mr. Horton had ever shown, Chance was sure.

Chance let out all his breath. "It's… a long story," he said. "A guy tried to assault a friend of mine. She got away alright, but the guy... "

Horton looked surprised for a moment and then shook his head slowly. "It sounds like you tried to take the law into your own hands … in a legal kind of matter," he replied.

"She wasn't going to report him," Chance frowned. He'd been through this enough times that he was pretty well fed up with it, though he was trying to be more cordial, considering this was an 'official' reprimand at this point.

"Are you sure the girl was even hurt, then?" he asked.

"What kind of question — of _course_," Chance said, his eyes narrowed as his head snapped up and he glared at the man.

"It's a very relevant one," he replied. "I was under the impression that you wanted to be a hero, not a vigilante of petty insults."

Chance frowned at the guy. "First of all? If you call attempted rape 'petty' again, I'm walking out that door and never coming back. I'm not going to talk to anyone who thinks _that _garbage."

"Mr. Summers," he said evenly. "You said _assault_. You didn't say a word about anything like that. The way it comes off on paper sounds like a backyard gang war."

"Well, it wasn't," Chance said, leaning back a bit but still glaring.

"So how was it that you came to be momentarily incarcerated?"

"You can read it for yourself."

"Clearly, the report is lacking," Horton said before he gestured openly. "Please, in your own words."

Chance let out a sigh and scrubbed his face with both hands before he leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees. "You know we have ferals at the school. Not hard for them to track a scent. We found the guy responsible, and that would have been that, but when they arrested James, he started trying to accuse us of wrecking his car. It got heated. He was just angling to get us all in trouble."

"I see," he said slowly. "And that's how you found yourself with an arrest record alongside one of the ferals."

Chance nodded. "I admit I lost my temper, but I swear — there was good reason."

"Mr. Summers," the man said before he let out a sigh and leaned back, his glasses discarded on his desk. "You are aware, I'm sure, of how hard this organization has tried to distance ourselves from exactly that image … the rabble-rousing, following the animalistic instincts … we're trying to rebrand this team. And until this … scuffle, you were our best foot forward."

Chance let out a breath and nodded slowly. "I wasn't trying to…" He closed his eyes. "I know how it looks. I was just trying to defend my friend, I swear."

"It hits a little too close to what the _original _team looked like," Horton continued. "Half of them were borderline _felons_. It did us no good then, and now, it still doesn't exactly scream 'hero'."

"It won't happen again," Chance said quickly.

"I certainly hope you're right," he said, leaning toward him and nodding. "You have some incredible _potential _if you would tap into it." Horton sighed heavily and watched Chance for a long moment. "We'll need to revisit this sooner rather than later. I want to see you succeed, but honestly, Mr. Summers, how are we supposed to outfit someone who is playing weekend warrior with one of the most high tech suits in the world?"

Chance felt his hands clench for a moment, but he just nodded and swallowed hard. "I swear, it won't happen again," he said again.

"I should hope not," Horton said, looking almost scandalized. "We'll review and reconsider things in a few months. See that you keep your nose clean in the meantime."

"A few-" Chance had to bite back the question — or accusation — before he could get it out.

"I'm sure we could step things up if you put an extra effort forward in helping your fellow students out. Get more involved."

"You want me to help train the junior squad?" Chance asked, his head tipped to the side.

"No, I want you to help some of the less integrated students find their way into the mainstream."

Chance watched Horton for a long time before he finally nodded. "I don't have much time between training and homework, but I'll make time for that," he promised. He took a deep breath. "I wasn't trying to jeopardize the team. You have to know that. It means a lot to me."

"Yes, I'm sure it does," Horton said. "Just be more aware of your actions when you're not with us. In uniform or out, if you're part of our team, you represent us. Everyone in the team does."

"I know," Chance said. "Believe it or not, I got the same lecture from another team leader this weekend. I know."

Horton gave him a tight kind of a smile. "Yes, well. Rest up; you have a big day of training tomorrow."

Chance nodded as he got to his feet. "Give me three weeks," he said. "You can see the training, and you can review my record, but if you still think in three weeks' time that I'm not putting in my best… I don't know what else I can do."

With that, Chance headed out, still feeling a bit unsteady, since this meant he couldn't go work on the suit with Mac like he wanted to — and he had just finished doing all the measurements and working out some specs, too.

He was so lost in his own thoughts that he almost didn't notice when Jamie came sliding up to him. "What's the deal?" she asked when she saw him. "Someone said you were a criminal now? There's no way, right?"

"Jamie, I really don't want to talk about this right now."

She looked shocked as she looked him over. "Wait. Are you serious?" Her eyes widened. "I chewed that guy up and down calling him a liar!"

Chance shook his head and let out a sigh. "It wasn't… like… that," he said. "Some idiot tried to… this guy almost hurt a friend of mine and…" He paused, not wanting to give away too much because he didn't want to betray Elin's confidence. "Look, it was a long weekend, and I don't really want to talk about it."

She pushed out her lower lip for a moment before she finally nodded. "I'd just hate to think you were going rogue on me," she said with a teasing smile. "Where's that dark side been hiding this whole time?"

Chance shot her a dry look. "This isn't a joke, Jamie. I really screwed up on this one, and I'm pretty sure I'm on probation from the team."

"They can't do that," Jamie said, her eyes wide.

"Uh, yeah they can," Chance pointed out. "They're the ones that have to okay all my paperwork and contract and everything."

Jamie frowned at him for a long moment before she simply popped on her toes and kissed his cheek. "I'm sorry to hear that," she said. "But it can't be all bad, right? You're not off the team or you wouldn't be here, right? Tell me you're not off the team."

Chance shook his head lightly. "No, I'm not off the team. I just…" He let out a breath. "I don't know when I'll have time to have a life at this point, between two teams, homework, and now they want me doing outreach here to be a better ambassador for the team…"

"Oh, that part's simple enough," Jamie said with a crooked smile. "You're taking me to the dance, and I'm totally a 'project', let's be honest." She patted his arm. "As for the rest, don't worry about it. I'll make all the dance arrangements — I really should anyway, since you're the one who has no _life_… I'll handle it. You just focus on the teams, okay?"

He turned toward her for a moment, taking in her almost manic grin. "Don't go overboard, okay?"

"It's our last fall formal — and my only one as a free agent away from Viper," she pointed out. She squeezed his arm again. "Don't worry — it'll be _fun_." With that, she all but flounced off before he could really argue, and he was still shaking his head to himself by the time he got back to class at sat down by Oliver, who was shooting him almost sympathetic looks — which just had him buckling down to focus on studying more, because that was the last thing he needed.

* * *

For the rest of that weekend, Elin had kept a low profile and tried to avoid everyone. Scott had given her a pass from practice with the junior team — well, not so much a pass as it was a 'you're taking a day off' kind of thing, but still. The sentiment was there, and that just meant that the team all heard at the very least a shortened official version of what had happened.

To make matters more complex, Elin really didn't want to head back to school. Her parents had given her permission to blow it off — either short term or altogether. But she had declined the offer fairly quickly. Especially since, once Logan had gotten her calmed down, he had regained his usual poignant commentary and encouraged her to face the creep just so he couldn't chase her off. And naturally, her mother echoed the sentiment in her own manner.

But she realized once she was there, she really should have reconsidered.

Word was out. On all of it. Previously friendly faces were giving her glares and watching her warily. The girl she'd been chatting with every morning before first period stared at her wide-eyed before pointedly turning the opposite direction. When she got to her locker, there was a message in sharpie that called her every dirty name related to her genes, lineage, and gender that anyone could imagine.

But she tipped her chin up and flat ignored it as best she could. She turned the tumblers on her lock and took her books out for class. As she made her way to class, the crowd seemed to part, and Elin found herself narrowing her eyes. She hadn't done a thing wrong … but she was catching flack for it.

Her sharp ears caught the vein of popular opinion, and on hearing it, her cheeks flushed bright red. Not only had Jacob lied to his friends and spread it around that she _had _slept with him - but also that she was head over heels for him and that she threatened him after he broke up with her. Which was how he learned that she was a mutant. And Wolverine's daughter. She'd _attacked _him in a fit of rage when he turned her away… if you believed the word in school, that is.

She wanted to track him down and kick the crap out of him — and any of his buddies that had been spreading the lies mixed with her truths about her family. But she knew that wouldn't do her a bit of good.

Instead, she casually corrected them.

"No, I didn't touch him, but my fifteen-year-old brother kicked the crap out of him."

"Yes, Wolverine and K are my parents. Yes, I favor my mother heavily, no, my dad doesn't waste his time with knuckle draggers like him — lucky him, since he couldn't handle my little brother."

Outside of that, Elin ignored the looks and hushed whispers all week. It was clear she wasn't exactly welcome anymore, but the more she thought about it … it was really just more of a reason for her to shove it in their faces.

"Why aren't you going to that mutant school?" one of the cheerleaders asked, though she kept a fair distance as she clutched her books to her chest.

Elin set her tea down and looked up at her as she drew in a deep breath. "Because I should be able to go to school wherever the hell I want."

"But … you didn't tell anyone you were a mutant before."

"That is the only bit of truth that slimeball said out of everything he said about me," Elin pointed out, but the girl just chuckled.

"Everyone knows that he only picks up the easy girls," she told her.

"Not new people," Elin corrected her.

"You've been here your whole life, right? That doesn't make you new — it just makes you naive. You should have learned more about him before you jumped into bed."

At that, though, Elin couldn't control her growl. "I didn't sleep with him." She narrowed her eyes and sneered at the girl. "But you did. Recently."

The growl alone was enough to make the girl and her friends step back. The cheerleaders skittered away, and Elin lost her appetite. This wasn't going well. She hadn't even made it through one marking period before she found herself ostracised on several fronts.

When she got back to her locker, the graffiti had gotten worse — threats and the usual insults, mixed with taunts about how she was trying and failing to be 'human'. But all that really did was tick her off.

By the time school was out and she'd driven herself home … she realized as she sat in the garage that she didn't _want _to ignore these kids. And she didn't want to leave.

She realized as she stared at her father's motorcycle that she _wanted _to teach them a true-to-life lesson in mutant-human relations. But for as rotten as they'd been to her, she was sure she wouldn't be able to do it without at least part of her uniform on to remind herself of what the goal was.

The thought wasn't very encouraging, and when she got up to her room, she dropped her backpack on the bed, frustrated. It _would _be a lot easier to just say to hell with it and stay here. She knew Scott would let her come back immediately. Hell, he'd even offered it after they got James out of jail.

But then they wouldn't be any better off. If she was going to do the right thing- it was clear that the right thing was her hardest option.

She let out a frustrated growl and headed to her closet to find something to change into. She wanted out of those clothes that smelled like the school. But when she opened it up, she only got that much more irritated when she saw the dress she'd picked up in Paris shortly before Jacob freakin' tried to force himself on her in the pick up truck.

"I really _liked _this dress," Elin said after she thought about it for a moment and yanked it off the rack. But … maybe … Krissy might have a use for it instead. She pulled the dress out of the closet and headed right over to Krissy's room, planning to simply leave it there with a note - and sure that Kate could get it altered any way it needed to be for her.

She knocked, and when she found the room was empty, she laid the dress out on Krissy's bed and was just jotting down her note when Kari came by and asked what she was doing. "Do you know where Krissy is?" Elin asked.

"She's down at team practice — like you're supposed to be," she pointed out, crossing her arms and frowning at the dress.

"Oh, right," Elin said, frowning deeper before she put the note on top of the dress. "Well. One missed practice won't matter, I'm sure."

"Right. One missed practice… because of a dress?" Kari wrinkled her nose at the dress. "I mean, it's cute and all, but it isn't 'miss practice drop dead gorgeous.'"

"I'm late — and that means a hassle," she replied. "And I'm entitled to a break now and again. So I'm taking one."

Kari perched on the top of the desk chair nearby. "I didn't say you weren't," she said. "And considering James texted me before he got arrested, I'd say _everyone_ could use one after what happened. But I'm just curious." She pointed with her tail to the dress. "It doesn't scream 'birthday present' or 'just because.'"

Elin let out a sigh. "I was going to wear it to the homecoming dance, but... I'm not going to their homecoming _or _our fall formal."

"Why?" Kari asked, her head tipped to the side.

"No date for one…."

"So? I'm going with Zoe. She doesn't have a date either — _not _for lack of boys trying, mind you," Kari giggled. "And Abracadabra got grounded — whatever it was was bad enough that Doctor Strange was mad? So… Harry's not coming with me."

"I think Doc gets a little worked up sometimes. He might surprise you and magic his way in. But as for the dress — maybe Krissy can find a use for it."

"Krissy's got a different dress from Paris," Kari said. "It's got matching gloves. You know. For Christian."

"Well, she can use it next time — or when he takes her somewhere nice." She pointed to the note. "I also am telling her to take whatever dresses she likes out of my closet. You're welcome to do the same. I don't want anyone looking at me anymore."

Kari watched Elin carefully, her head tipped to the side and her tail swaying behind her. "You know," she said slowly. "You can go with me and Zoe if you like. But I know there's a few guys who don't have dates who are just… _fun_. That's the whole point, right?"

"It's supposed to be," she agreed, already thinking of asking her mother to let her go up to the cottage for the weekend instead. "I don't think that's really an option, though. you know how awful the dances have been for me since Nolan. I just ... I don't need to keep hearing it."

"Then find someone you like." Kari held up a hand. "Not… _like_. Just find someone fun. That's why Zoe and I are going." She smirked. "I think Cody is going to have a heart attack when he sees what she's wearing, but that's just me. Zoe does that to… everyone."

"Right. I'll think about it; thanks, Kari," Elin replied before she simply headed out of the door.


	12. Spread a Little Sunshine

**Chapter 12: "Spread a Little Sunshine"**

"Have you lost your mind?" Krissy asked before the smoke had even cleared from her teleport as she appeared in Elin's room a little while after practice had let out.

"No," Elin said, not looking up at her yet. "I just don't want them anymore. That dark purple-black one is on the far left. I know you liked it."

"I mean, I do like it, but Ellie — we got that dress in _Paris_!"

"And I'm not wearing dresses anymore," Elin said, looking up at her finally.

Krissy shook her head at her. "Ellie! Paris! You don't have to keep all of them, but… but... Paris!"

"What would I wear it for, Krissy?" Elin asked. "I don't have a reason to. And I'm not looking for one." She didn't _say _how she was convinced that if she'd been in jeans, the situation with Jacob wouldn't have progressed. In fact, her entire style had shifted to baggy clothes that she could hide in, and she was wearing her hair down so she could hide in _that _too.

"But we're still a year away from graduating. There's the Valentine's bash and the spring formal and then Halloween next year and the ones after that and—"

"Kris, you're the romantic one, remember? Not me. I fail in that every single time."

"Only because you pick the wrong guys!"

"Exactly. I always pick the wrong guys."

"Well, you should just date someone like — like Chance!" Krissy decided.

"I'm _not _dating one of your exes," Elin said, shaking her head. "That's … just … tacky. No. I'm not letting someone make laps around all of us girls for kicks."

Krissy wrinkled up her nose. "Um. No? We're talking about Chance here. Not … this is the kid who … he wouldn't…"

"He flirts with every single girl that walks past him," Elin said, ticking her reasons off on her fingers. "He's _never _been interested in me, and I'm not taking a pity date from a _Summers_. That's the last thing I need after getting the slut shame in both schools. No."

"But you're such good friends!" Krissy pointed out.

"Friends being the operative word," she said.

"Why can't you go to the dance with a friend, though?" Krissy asked. "That's not a pity date — that's just fun!"

"Actually, it is a pity date with the circumstances," Elin said. "Considering that the guys on the team know what happened? Total pity date."

Krissy rolled her eyes and leaned back. "Well…" She seemed to think better of her thought and then shook her head. "I really wouldn't mind, though. If you dated someone I dated. I mean, I _am _the romantic one, and I don't want the fact that I date around to stop you from finding your Prince Charming."

"Kris, it's not like it was a quick fling — you were in _love,_" Elin said, shaking her head. "It wasn't just a passing thing. You were serious and I just … No. Forget it. That's not right."

Krissy tipped her head to the side and let out a slow breath. "Yeah, but I'm not in love with him anymore," she said. "And I don't really think I ever was. I just… love him? If that makes sense."

"It really doesn't matter," Elin said, shaking her head. "He's off-limits. That's it."

Krissy frowned at her friend for a long time. "That…" She let out a sigh and leaned over to kiss her friend's cheek. "That's really sweet. Totally unnecessary, but _so, so _sweet."

"Listen, I have both of you talking to me, and that hasn't exactly been the case for a while" Elin said. "I'm going to keep it that way — at least until _someone_ drifts again."

"You know you've got us, Ellie," Krissy said, snuggling into her friend.

"I've got you for now," Elin said.

"And forever," Krissy swore.

Elin didn't argue it, though she shook her head and shifted the subject slightly. "Which … I should ask _you _who actually has an interested sweetheart … what are you doing? There is no reason not to go with Sying if you like him. No personal codes, nothing stacked against you."

Krissy shrugged her shoulders all the way up to her ears. "I… I know," she said.

"Well, for the record, I'm not listening to you trying to set me up with _anyone_. Especially as long as you're pulling this crap. Go ahead and pull it. But don't … no. You don't get to advise anyone on their love life."

"But… I just…. I want you to be happy!"

"And I'll be happy not wrecking anything else, alright?"

Krissy let out a long breath but nodded. "How mad is he right now?"

"Who?"

"Sying."

"More like he doesn't understand. He's taking it personally, of course. Because it's personal."

Krissy looked slightly dejected as she nodded. "I know… I just…" She bit her lip and looked up at Elin. "I thought I was in love with Chance. And we talked before we left Europe about how we were going to move on and all but … what if … what if I do the same thing to Sying?"

"What? Spend a few years madly in love and adventuring? Sounds awful. Neither of you would probably live through it."

Krissy bit her lip again and shifted a bit. "No, I mean — think we're in love and — and — and Ellie… everything changed between me and Chance after we fooled around because — because it was _serious _and we weren't and — and I don't want to be _that girl_."

"You probably don't," she agreed. "It sucks, let me tell you."

"And I don't want to do that to Sying," Krissy concluded.

"So don't do that until you're sure," Elin said. "You don't have to be a … you don't have to be like me — though I wasn't … I knew I wasn't serious."

Krissy shook her head. "That's … I just meant… I don't want to hurt him. It's not just about the fooling around."

"No, I know," Elin said. "I just needed to clarify that I never thought or felt that way about Nolan."

Krissy leaned over and hugged her friend. "I knew that. Which is why I want you to find someone that makes you happy. But if you're not ready to date again, you can just… I'm not ready to get serious again, either. It's okay."

"I don't think it works the same way for us," Elin said. "And I know Mom and Dad both had a _lot _of false starts."

"It's fine; we're still young," Krissy said soothingly.

"I hate this _so much_," Elin half growled. "Fighting instincts."

Krissy snuggled her friend some more. "I'm sorry. It sucks. I agree."

"I kind of hate all of this … all of it," she said, starting to vent a little. "That … _that _is why I'm giving you my dresses."

Krissy nodded quietly and then looked up at Elin from where she was snuggled in. "Alright. But I won't take the Paris dress. Even if you hold onto it for decades… you should have it for that right moment."

"There won't be a right moment for me, Kris. I'm okay, and I don't want it."

"I won't take it until I have a daughter of my own," Krissy said. "And _then _I will take it."

"Fine. Then I'll pack it away for you," Elin agreed.

Krissy nodded. "Come on. Let's go get some hot cocoa or something. We can have it on the roof."

"I just … I kinda want to just go to sleep," Elin admitted. "I know it's early, but I'm tired."

"Just one mug," Krissy said. "With marshmallows, of course."

"One."

Krissy grinned at that and teleported off with her friend, taking her up to the roof — though Elin did end up falling asleep on Krissy's shoulder with her cup of cocoa untouched next to her, and Krissy didn't miss that it was a major marker of how depressed Elin really was.

* * *

Logan had held back on going after the little creep that had tried to force himself on Elin … but only just. He wasn't afraid to get caught. That … really wasn't something that he even considered, if he was being honest. James had effectively ended Jacob's future career in sports. That much he was sure of just by the way the boy's hand was colored.

But his silent warning in the police station wasn't doing what it should have. At least … not to the local hot shot kid. Obviously, he'd thought he'd gotten away with it — or that Logan wouldn't teach him a lesson. But he was dead wrong.

As it turned out, Jacob had a pattern that was easy to crack, and even off the team, he deviated surprisingly little from his daily routine. Which really just made it easy for Logan to find the kid after he came in late Friday night after causing trouble with his friends.

Jacob's house was fairly removed from the others on the street, and the boy had barely gotten to his house before the lights outside the garage flickered off and he complained to himself as he headed over to see what the problem was.

Of course, he never really made it there to see. Logan got a hold of him and twisted the kid up into one of the most painful positions he could think of — one that with a little bit of pressure would dislocate the kid's leg from his hip — which he knew would leave him out of even walking for at least a few weeks. "Give me a reason not to," Logan growled out low. "But the second you scream, all bets are off." The kid whimpered as Logan held pressure with one hand. "Seems like you need to learn some manners. _Especially _where young women are concerned. So … you an' me are gonna spend a little time together."

"Are you going to kill me?"

"I guess that depends on how quick a study you are," Logan replied. "But I wouldn't count on walkin' anytime soon."

* * *

Gerry had ostensibly come down from NYU to visit to say hi to his "Aunt Kate," and the two of them had spent some time out on the archery range shooting together before coming inside, though when he spotted Elin in the living room, he put a hand on Kate's shoulder. "Hey, hold that thought. I'll be right back," he said before ducking into the room with a wide grin. "Hey, Elin. How's life?"

"Still breathing, so … functional, I guess. Are you helping the archery class?"

"Just wanted to come say hi, brush up, make sure I don't lose it," he laughed. "I've been _swamped _with O-Chem this semester, so the break's been nice."

"I can see how that would make you want to shoot something," Elin agreed. "James said he was ticking off the teacher with his study habits when he did that one, so … he just klepped out. Said the guy was 'a total goob'."

"No kidding. Me on the other hand? Twelve hours' study prep for the test this morning? I needed the break after it was over." He shook his head. "Not a certifiable genius, though, so that's how the cookie crumbles or whatever." He took a seat opposite her. "Krissy and Kari have been talking nonstop about that dance," he said honestly as he kicked up his feet on the coffee table.

She made a disinterested little noise as she went back to her book.

"Let's go together."

"What are you _talking about_?"

Gerry just grinned at her. "Hey. Don't get me wrong. I'm not asking you out or anything. But I could use some fun; you could _clearly _use some fun if your assessment of life is 'breathing'. We'll get sno cones after. And get Charlie to help us make fun of the raging hormones. And show everyone up on dance moves."

She closed her book and looked up at him with a more serious expression. "Who put you up to it?"

"I told you: Krissy and Kari have been talking about the dance nonstop. But I _don't _have to be put up to asking a friend to have a little fun." Gerry looked as serious as he was able.

"I don't … I don't want a pity date, even covered in sunshine."

"If I'd known you were just… _existing_, I'd've been here sooner. Come on. You know I'm not interested. I know you're not interested. It's a total no-pressure, just-friends, knock-their-socks-off _hilarity date_." He grinned. "I'll even wear a suit and tie."

"I already gave my dress away," she said with a shrug. "And I'm not putting on a costume for anyone."

"Unless you want to go in matching tracksuits and say 'bro' to everyone. I'm totally up for that too. For the look on Aunt Kate's face if nothing else."

She cracked a little smile at that. "That's really more of an early Sunday morning thing," Elin pointed out.

"Hey, I'm not in high school anymore. I don't _care _if the dress code is suit and tie. What's the worst that could happen?"

"Yeah, but Storm is enforcing it, so …. Plenty could happen."

"We'll sneak in the shadows," he teased. "Jump out and surprise Aunt Kate. If she had a tail, it'd be straight up."

"I don't know. I gave my fake mustache to Sadie."

"Well, that's a shame. I guess you'll just have to wear a dress," Gerry said, shaking his head. "If you hate the dance, we'll go to Coney Island or something instead after we make an appearance. You just ... hey. We could both use a night of fun. Whatdya say?"

"I really don't … want to."

"You need to get out, Elin," Gerry pointed out. "And I'd like to think I'm a pretty safe 'fun' date? Unless I've been lied to my whole life about being a nice break from drama or whatever Lottie calls it."

"I don't know; you're talking to me? So I think that means you probably rate somewhere on the jackass scale," Elin said. "Even if you're asking out of pity."

"It's _not _pity." Gerry shook his head. "Think of it like… a gigantic big brother move."

"So you think my best option is a brother …"

"Yeah, I already said we're not interested in each other… unless there's something you want to tell me, in which case, I have bad news for you…"

"Yeah, that'd be the case for anyone? So … no."

He grinned at her. "Great. So I'll wear a suit — Mom taught me this pretty cool knot with the tie that I can even pull off."

"Are you going to give me an option here?" Elin asked as she crossed her arms.

"Not on the getting out and having fun. But like I said, we can ditch and do something else if you end up hating the dance," he swore. "But at least let's make sure to get a picture before we ditch the high schoolers for greener pastures. I'll do the pouty lips, you do the he-man…"

"Fine," she replied finally. "But I'm holding you to that. Besides, you're the one that knows how this is supposed to go."

"It's really not horrible, especially when Jubilee and Noh tag team the DJing," he promised. "We'll kick off our shoes and dance the night away and put all the other couples to shame."

"If I kick off my shoes, I won't be tall enough to dance with you."

"'Course you can. I have a very attractive navel."

"If that's all I can see, then we have a very big problem on our hands, and you'll need to get off the chair."

He laughed outright. "Yeah, true. We'll figure it out. Even if you were dancing to my knees, though, we'd still knock everyone else out. Hands down."

"Gerry, I already said I'd go … you can stop cheerleading any time."

"Have we met?" Gerry laughed. "Name's Sunshine? I spread it around? It's like a twitch." Still, he pulled his feet off the coffee table and got up as he said it.

She shooed him with one hand. "Go spread it in archery."

He grinned and waved. "See you later, Elin. I'll get here an hour ahead of time to help with some twinkle lights."

"Of course you will," she said, shaking her head.

"What can I say? No one can do them like I can," he laughed over his shoulder before he headed out to go find Kate and the other Wagner girls to tell them they were on for the dance.


	13. The Fall Formal

**Chapter 13: "The Fall Formal"**

By the time the big dance rolled around, the whole school was decked out — Storm had provided the mood lighting as always — and everyone came in either gorgeous suits and dresses or amazing costumes.

Chance had worn the basic suit like he'd said, but he was surprised when Jamie had shown up with a nearly backless piece, which… was making it difficult to know where to put his hands. He was _trying _to be respectful — and to show that he could be level-headed - and basically just trying not to do anything that would make him look like an idiot teenager again.

"Do you ever relax?" Jamie asked him as the two of them hit the dance floor.

He shook his head at her. "That's not a fair question when I've got to prove I can handle the team status by next week."

Jamie let out all her breath at once and rolled her eyes before she draped her arms around his shoulders while they danced. "But you can relax for one night, can't you? Come on. I put in all this effort. Please?"

Chance let out a small breath and nodded, leading her gently into a slow dance that was as respectful as he could make it. After all, it was becoming increasingly clear to him that Jamie was overly interested, and while it was nice to have someone to talk to besides Oliver at the school, he just… wasn't.

James and Vanessa were already at the dance when Chance got there — and the bubbly little blonde was wrapped halfway around James' arm and decked out in a long, shimmering green-to-blue dress that brushed the floor. She was leaning into him and asking who was who as they came in before James finally pulled her around to head over to a table and sit down. The dance floor was overly crowded, and he wasn't much in the mood to fight a crowd over something as minor as space.

Charlie and Sying joined them at the table shortly after their arrival, though obviously, neither of them was wrapped halfway around the other. They'd decided to go as friends, though Charlie was distracted in watching the still-heartbroken half-Kree as she turned her sights toward James and Vanessa. "You two look nice."

"So shocked," James replied almost automatically. "I like your accessory." He gestured at Sying. "Maple sugar star dust is very chic, I'm told."

Sying stuck his tongue out at James. "Yeah, I know I'm cute. Don't be hateful."

"Why would I be hateful of 'cute'?" James asked, wrinkling up his nose. "Cute is like a puppy or a fluffy kitten."

Sying rolled his eyes again at that, though he wasn't paying much attention, obviously looking around the dance floor to try and spot Krissy and Christian — who, unsurprisingly, were dancing slowly and looking very elegant.

"Would you like to dance?" Vanessa asked Sying. "If … Charlie doesn't mind, that is."

Charlie shrugged lightly. "Go ahead. I'd know if you were interested, and you're not, so I don't mind."

Sying seemed to blink for a second and then smiled as he offered Vanessa his hand. "Sure."

Vanessa beamed at him and got to her feet. "I heard you're one of the better dancers. So I hope you don't mind teaching me a little bit."

Sying smiled lightly. "You heard wrong," he said. "I'm one of the _best _dancers."

Charlie watched the two of them head off before she turned to James with a smile. "I'm glad to see you getting out," she said. "Even if you feel uncomfortable. It's good to get out of the comfort zone a bit — I'm told."

"Yeah? When are you going to try it yourself?" James asked.

Charlie smiled and shrugged. "Whenever the opportunity arises," she said. "I mean, I _am _planning to go to college after I graduate. Whole campus full of drama. I'd say that counts."

"Probably," he agreed, glancing out over the dance floor at large. "So… who are you interested in that you're not going after? Seems to be the running theme lately."

"Actually, I _did _like going out with Sying, but he's head over heels for Krissy all over again, so I think this is more a case of 'I've got him but he doesn't want to be had'."

"I don't think he ever _wasn't _head over heels for her."

"Well, he wasn't _head over heels_ before, or I wouldn't have gone out with him. But it's back in full force instead of a low rumble. So. Here I am."

"Sorry about that," James said.

She gestured openly. "Every power has its drawback. Mine is that it's hard to have fun when I know the second a guy loses interest."

"Yeah, but it saves time," James pointed out.

"Maybe. But it makes dating anyone but whoever I _end up with _pretty much impossible," she said.

"Sounds like crap to me," he muttered.

Charlie shrugged. "But what about you? You're not sure about this girl; I know that. But you're giving it a try?"

"Yeah … might as well. She's nice, and she's not being deceptive. Dating options are low at the tower unless I decide to develop a thing for older girls. So …" He shrugged. "I guess we'll see."

"It does make things easier when there's no deception involved," Charlie agreed.

"She's got a lot of your similar issues with the abilities," James pointed out. "Hardly ever makes a move unless she knows how it'll turn out. That's … irritating."

"That sounds… overly safe for you," Charlie said.

"Didn't say that _I _listened," James said.

"I didn't say you did. Because that would be insane," Charlie said with a smirk.

He tipped his chin toward the group at large. "What about the rest of the hunyaks?"

"Where do you want me to start?" Charlie said, the smirk widening. "The Elfling who's too afraid to date the heartbroken Kree? Or my brother, who _still _hasn't asked Elin out for reasons surpassing human understanding…"

"She probably wouldn't go out with him," James said in a far-too matter-of-fact tone.

"That's crazy. I know she likes him," Charlie pointed out.

"Well that doesn't figure in her personal code, does it now?" James said.

"No Summerses?" Charlie teased.

James smirked and shook his head. "Surprisingly, no. That's not it at all. It's more to do with not dating exes of close friends."

"Not ever?" Charlie let out her breath in frustration.

James shook his head lightly as he rested his chin in his palm.

"So you mean I'm going to spend the rest of my life watching them pretend not to like each other since they were small."

"Unless you can figure out how to change her mind — and get him to kick it into gear? Well… no. She'll probably take off before then."

"Take off?"

"Can't tell me you haven't missed her high misery level lately," James said.

"Um, no, it's fairly obvious."

"Well … she wanted to go up to the cottage _that night_. She tried to quit the team, too."

"I heard about that part." Charlie shook her head. "I know… she has every right to be miserable after what happened, so I'm not arguing that. But I want them both to be happy, and I _know _they both like each other, and it's like… watching a slow motion series of falls."

"At this point, I think she is just trying to crush herself with as much as she can," James told her. "She's kinda mad at me, so … I can't talk to her."

"Chance is doing more or less the same thing — too busy to date kind of thing," Charlie agreed, then let out her breath. "Our siblings are nuts, you know that?"

"Yep," he agreed, letting the discussion fall as Chance headed over with his date. "Speak of the moron."

"I like the suit," Chance said James way.

"Still need to keep your hands off," James shot back without missing a beat.

"It's so hard," Chance said, also without hesitating.

"If you can't be a gentleman, then I can't give you anything new," James said with a shrug. "And you know I take issue when guys can't be gentlemen. Dad wasn't mad, by the way."

Chance smirked and drew a halo over his head, and Jamie frowned between the two of them. "There has got to be some kind of joke here," she said.

"Don't worry about it," Chance told her.

"You must be Jamie," Charlie said before her brother could dig himself into anything.

"And you must be Charlie," Jamie said with a smile. "You look a lot like your brother."

"Obviously."

"Charlie…" Chance said in an almost warning tone.

Charlie just smiled at him. "I _am _being nice."

"Uh-huh."

"Oh, loosen up and have a little fun," Charlie teased her brother, who stuck his tongue out at her for good measure.

When Sying and Vanessa finished their dance, the usually bubbly blonde returned with a little frown, though she quickly put a smile on before Jamie looked up to see the two of them approach — not that James missed it. She smiled at Jamie but took the seat between James and Charlie before she waved her fingertips to say hello.

Jamie smiled sweetly and offered Vanessa her hand. "I'm-"

"Oh, I know who you are," Vanessa said, though she did not take her hand. "I just didn't realize this was happening." The second part she said much lower, and James turned her way and shook his head.

"Always on top of things, see, Charlie?" James said as Vanessa shrugged Charlie's way.

"Do you always do that?" Charlie asked Vanessa.

"I'm getting better about only doing it when it's more important," Vanessa said. "But it's kind of automatic still. Your sister is _a saint _to work with."

Charlie couldn't help but smile at that. "She is, but I liked working with Remy better." She tipped her head James' way for a moment. "So, how did you two — I mean, I know you work at Stark's together?"

"Tony thinks he's funny," James said. "She's my lab assistant."

Charlie nodded. "So it was a setup," she teased.

"Just a small one," Vanessa said. "It would have gone the same way if he'd gotten the four other interns Mr. Stark had lined up first? This was just quicker."

Charlie raised an eyebrow her way for a moment and then shook her head. "I… need a trip to the ladies room. Come with me?"

For an instant, Vanessa looked a little sheepish, but she nodded and gave James a quick kiss on the cheek before she followed Charlie.

Charlie waited until they were out in the hallway before she turned to Vanessa. "Listen. James is one of my best friends in the world and one of the few people that I can count on to _understand _\- so let's be clear. I want him to be happy. And he can't be happy if you dictate to him."

"I … don't mean to," she defended. "I'm just saying how I see it."

"Which is fine for you, but he has to make his own decisions," Charlie insisted.

"But if it's all the same, what difference does it make?" Vanessa asked with a frown.

Charlie shook her head. "If you have to be told, you don't understand him at all," she said. "You just see what could be in the future — but you're not seeing everything that he's been through. Do you know how many people want to lock him up and _make _him do their bidding?"

"Yes. I do," she said, nodding. "I've seen them."

"Then use your common sense!" Charlie said, throwing her hands up. "You think that knowing that - you really think that giving him _no option _is a good way to deal with him?"

"I guess I didn't realize ... " She faded off and frowned to herself.

"That's why I wanted to talk to you," Charlie said. "Like I said: he's my friend. I want him to be happy. And if you really care about him — and I can tell you do, or I wouldn't be helping — then you need to know how to actually make him _happy_."

Vanessa took just a moment, then grinned widely before she took a step or two forward and simply wrapped Charlie up in a hug. "Thank you!"

Charlie was surprised by the move but returned it. "Oh… I'm not used to this going so well."

"But you're right — and I don't see any reason not to listen when you're right."

Charlie was smirking as she stepped back. "Oh yeah, I like you." She tipped her head to the side. "Can I ask you something now?"

"Of course!" Vanessa was beaming again. "You'd be surprised how rare it is for anyone to actually ask me something."

Charlie smiled and nodded. "You said before when you met my brother and his girlfriend… he doesn't like her, and she doesn't like him — not in that way anyway; it's all lust, no substance — so what, exactly… should I be concerned about my brother?"

Vanessa glanced back at the table. "That girl is _not _the right girl. At all. But … she'll be around for a little bit. Just a little bit."

"He's dated vapid idiots before," Charlie said.

Vanessa shook her head. "She's … _not _vapid."

"She's definitely conniving, I'll give her that, but I don't know if she's just…" Charlie shrugged. "As horrible as this sounds, a girl trying to get in my brother's pants is the least of my worries about him."

"What do you want to know?" Vanessa asked low as she took a step closer.

"I just want to know what it is that's 'happening', because it sure seemed like it was the start of something, and I don't trust her to start anything _good_," Charlie told her frankly.

Vanessa's smile was entirely gone as she met Charlie's gaze. "She will make things move."

"That's… is that a good or a bad thing; I really can't tell? I just know you're being very careful."

"I can't tell either right now," Vanessa admitted. "I need to see a little more first. And that girl _complicates _things."

"No kidding," Charlie said with a sigh. "He didn't even want to go with her, you know."

"That is a recurring theme there," she said. "The next one will be entirely different. One way or another."

Charlie watched Vanessa for a long moment and then nodded. "Well, thanks," she said. "I know Wiccan has a hard time when people ask about the future, and I can tell you're torn up, but please… if my brother's in danger…"

She smiled her way. "It's easier for me, I think … because I can't see everything like he can. My options are more … immediate most of the time. And … if I catch anything horrible, I'll say so. But unless I'm close? Or they are a person that meshes into my own future? It's harder to tell."

"That makes sense." Charlie gestured to the door. "Come on; they're probably missing us. I can hear Sying pining in there, and I know he could use a good dance."

She grinned. "You should take him this time. He loves dancing with you."

"We're both music lovers," Charlie said as they headed back to the main area. "It's part of why I liked dating him."

She tipped her head slightly. "Yes … but you're so, so close …"

Charlie laughed out loud. "Vanessa, I'm not going to date Sying."

"Oh, no, of course not … and I'm not going to wreck how your love story starts." She gave her a broad smile and used that as her means to slip back over to James.

Charlie shook her head at Vanessa but was sure to offer her arm to Sying — though she hadn't even made it out to the dance floor with him before she got hit with a _huge _wave of jealousy from her brother and turned to see Gerry and Elin making their entrance. She shook her head to herself and turned her attention back to Sying. "Come on. Let's show them how it's done."

And across the dance floor, Gerry was telling Elin more or less the same thing. "Come on — couplea dances and then we can start people watching and pick apart all of the stupid. You know there's stupid. Two seconds in and I've already spotted Lottie with Sying and he's not even looking at her."

"They're here as friends too, goober," Elin pointed out.

"Oh, I was talking about the stupid from my fellow Hawk that got them there, but yeah, yeah, I knew that."

"Yeah, don't judge, pity date."

"Hilarity date. I thought we established this!"

"You … tried to establish that. I'm still waiting."

He grinned and leaned in a little closer. "I swear, I'm even wearing a tracksuit under this suit, and you just have to say the word and Aunt Kate is going to _die_."

She tipped her head to the side. "Shut up. You are not."

He grinned even wider and unbuttoned his shirt enough to show her the yellow-lined tracksuit. "I so am."

"You're going to kick off the rumors all over again if you strip down in the middle of the ballroom."

"Oh please. They'll all be too dazzled by me to notice you," Gerry said, already buttoning back up.

"Very likely," she agreed.

"What do you think - get her at the punch bowl? Or wait until my dad shows up and get 'em both?"

"Two hawks with one stone for sure," she said with a nod.

He grinned as he pulled her into a little spin out onto the dance floor. "See? Hilarity date."

"I'll wait and tell you how hilarious it actually is," she pointed out.

He shook his head at her. "Tough crowd."

"And you know we're totally going to clash as soon as you go all … track suit monte on me."

"I know. It's a shame. You'll just have to be gorgeous all on your own while I'm all hideous and weird."

"Yeah … not likely," she said, scrunching up her nose. "But I appreciate the effort in the compliment."

Gerry grinned even wider. "Well, until then, let's do Beauty and the Beast at the end of the movie, and then we'll do the roaring tracksuit beast thing? I lost track of the metaphor somewhere, but I think it still sorta works."

"You're the one leading this freak parade, Sunshine." She rested one hand over her heart. "I am just a passenger here."

Gerry grinned. "Well, get ready to enjoy the ride," he said before he outright picked her up, tossed her in the air, and spun her around in the air.

"Careful with the short skirt, trouble maker," Elin said, shaking her head at him.

"Hey, I am incredibly precise and a pure gentleman. You're fine."

Gerry led their little dance around the room a couple times, even going so far as to dip her once or twice just to do it before his dad came in and he ske-daddled over to change, leaving her alone at the edge of the dance floor.

But she knew what was coming, and it wasn't long at all before she saw Gerry again, this time in his tracksuit, walking carefully along the ceiling until he saw his dad and Kate meet up. He dropped down between them and got the _best _scream out of Kate and a sort of 'augh' noise out of Clint that had Natasha and Kurt both laughing.

Elin couldn't help but laugh — especially when he got into the 'bro' stage of the joke — and by the time his family had started to back off on giving him a hard time right back, she was headed off of the dance floor on her own.

"Ellie!" Elin hadn't quite gotten to the table with their friends before Krissy teleported over with Christian still holding her hand. "Oh my gosh. That was beautiful!"

"All Gerry — of course," she said.

"He's hilarious," Krissy agreed. "But it's great to see you laughing too!"

"Hard not to when he got the double-hawk jump," Elin pointed out.

"He is _such _a Barton," Krissy said with an affectionate smile.

Elin was nodding along with a little smile when Gerry caught up to them. "Okay, that was worthwhile, but also your very best gag of the night."

"Not that I'm a one-trick pony or anything," Gerry said with a smirk. "But I'm glad you liked it. Had to do something to break up all of the dancing couples."

"Well, now that you got that out of your system partway — what am I supposed to be?" Elin asked, gesturing down to her short dress.

Gerry tipped his head to the side as he considered her. "Hmmm. I dunno. Pretty girl too good for tracksuits?"

"Well … now you're going to have to make up a backstory," she decided as she took his offered arm.

He nodded seriously. "Yes, alright. Hmm. You… married into the wrong family, and now you're trying to get out of it…" He kept right on talking all the way out onto the dance floor as he came up with increasingly improbable ways that Elin was working against her mob boss husband, which just had Elin smiling despite herself.

And while Gerry and Elin were joking around and having a good time, their fun absolutely hadn't gone unnoticed by Chance, who wasn't dancing with Jamie and hadn't been for a long time.

He wasn't really trying to be rude, honestly — but he couldn't take his eyes off of Elin. He'd always thought she was the prettiest girl he'd ever met, but the fact that she was wearing the dress from Paris and _laughing _just… he really couldn't concentrate on anything else.

It was, frustratingly, a matter of bad timing. If Jamie hadn't surprised him by asking him to the dance when Elin was planning to go to homecoming with Jacob… They had gotten their wires crossed, and even though Chance _knew _that Gerry wasn't interested in Elin and had asked her to go as friends, he couldn't help how jealous he felt.

He managed to get a bit of a handle on it, though, when Gerry and Elin finally made their way over to the table of friends, still grinning but clearly a bit tired out from all of Gerry's ridiculousness as they sat down with the rest of them.

"Sorry for the tracksuit disaster," Elin said to the group at large before she finally took the seat that Gerry pulled out for her.

"Hey, it was hilarious," Charlie assured her. "We were all laughing."

"You should take a spin with him," Elin said with a little smirk her way. "He'll tell stories all the way through it if you prompt him."

"I don't believe you," Charlie said with a little laugh that prompted the most ridiculous insulted look from Gerry.

"Oh, suddenly you don't know if I'm lying?" Elin said, frowning her way.

Charlie rolled her eyes. "I mean, there's no way Gerry can actually finish a story."

"She's issuing a challenge," Gerry whispered to Elin low with a twinkle in his eyes. "Should I take it?"

"I think you might have to," Elin said with a nod. "But only if you promise to dip her."

"Oh, definitely," Gerry said, grinning widely at her before he offered his hand to Charlie, and the two of them headed off to the dance floor together — though not before Charlie made it a point to kick Chance in the shin. Hard.

Chance really didn't need the prompt, though, and he turned to Elin with a grin. "Mind if I steal you while your date's dipping my sister?"

"Sure," she replied. "If that's what you want to do instead of making threatening gestures to the tracksuit picking her up. Literally."

"You act like I can't multitask," he said before he offered her his hand to take her out to the dance floor.

Elin gave him an honest grin and nodded. "Got it. Decoy dance."

Chance let out a little laugh and shook his head as he led her out. "What, I have to have ulterior motives to dance with you?"

"No, I just figured that was the way the night was going," she said, shrugging lightly.

Chance shook his head as he glanced over his shoulder to where Charlie and Gerry were dancing. "You know, Charlie can handle herself. Let's just — let's just dance, huh?"

"Sure," she agreed before she slipped around to put her hands on his shoulders. "Lead on."

Chance grinned at her as he lead her through the slow dance before he couldn't help but say, "I'm really glad you decided to come."

"I'm not entirely sure I had a choice the way that Krissy and Gerry double-teamed me, to be honest."

"I know I should probably say something here about how they shouldn't do that, but I really did mean it when I said I was glad you came," Chance said with a little smile. "Sorry."

"No, I'm sorry you guys got arrested over that jackass."

Chance shook his head. "That wasn't your fault. I lost my temper," he said. "Totally on me."

She looked down and shook her head. "Well. I'm still sorry."

Chance frowned and then dipped his head down to catch her gaze. "Hey. As far as I'm concerned, we're fine, okay? And that guy doesn't deserve to make you look like that."

"Sweet Summers," she said with a smirk. "But I know … _I know _that you've been playing catch up ever since."

He shook his head. "Like I said: that's totally on me. I mean, I just decided to ditch the mask and go out on two different teams — and then I did that? Not exactly stellar hero material."

"Yeah … well, he kind of made sure that the rumor mill was rolling solidly before I guess he had a massive change of heart. He hasn't spoken a word about me at all in over a week. _Mysterious_."

"One of the world's greatest unsolved mysteries," Chance chuckled. "The world may never know."

"But … it got me thinking anyhow. I think you're on the right track, and I'm going to try to do something … similar. You know. If your dad doesn't stroke out on me."

"Well, he survived me asking. I think you'll be okay."

"I'm going to ask him to let me do our missions without the mask," Elin said quietly. "And I'm going to start wearing my jacket. Everywhere."

Chance looked surprised for a second before he broke into an honest grin. "Hey, I love it!" he said. "Stick it to 'em, right?"

"That's the plan," she agreed. "Just have to wait and see if I get his blessings first."

"I think if you explain it… I could help if you want. I mean, if he'll listen to me? I sort of had Kate _and _Charlie helping me?"

"I've already more or less made up my mind," Elin said. "Dad is behind me, and I hate to say it, but if he doesn't like it, I'm going to do it anyhow. I just want to give him a chance to agree."

"Good." Chance leaned in with a little smile. "I love my dad, but he needs the push sometimes."

"I think he'll be okay with it," she said, nodding once. "And worst case scenario … well. I did try to quit. I'm not too worried."

Chance shook his head at her and pulled her into a spin. "I don't know why you tried to quit. The team would be _lost _without you."

"I'm not sure about that," she said, tipping her head toward Sying. "There are plenty of others that can step up."

Chance looked toward Sying for a second and then nodded and turned back to her. "Yeah… but I won't lie. I miss running it with you."

"Well, by the time you figure out if you're both teams or one, we'll get back to our dual thing. It was a lot less stressful."

He let out a breath. "Yeah, I'm having the same problem," he admitted. "But I really want to see this through."

"So see it through," she said simply. "I'm not going to stop you or guilt trip you otherwise."

"I wasn't saying you were," he said quickly.

"No, I know that, but I also know that _some _people aren't above that," she said.

"You can say my sister when you say 'some people,'" he teased.

She drew in a quick breath and rested one hand over her heart. "But she would _never _interfere with someone."

He laughed out loud. "I'm pretty sure the rule is 'never interfere with _romance_', and seeing as I don't want to date Mac…."

"I don't know … has to be a reason Heather has stuck around …"

"Hey, just because he's decent doesn't mean he's my type," Chance teased. "Mine's more… grounded… little more willing to break the rules…" He trailed off and then tried to ignore that his ears were burning.

"And less maple leaf, I hope." She shook her head and smiled a little. "I mean … I'm sure you'll rock the look, but Mac? I mean… come on."

"No, no, I agree. It's the only part of the suit I don't like," Chance said, then paused. "I mean. Well. The specs, anyway. I still haven't gotten to actually _fly _it."

"Try not to forget to pencil me in for a flight," she said. "Just don't drop me in open water and we'll be just fine."

"I'd like to think I'm not going to drop you at all?" he pointed out.

"Just trying to keep the bar low," she replied with a shrug.

"Hey, this is me you're talking to. Maybe we can raise it a few inches?" he teased.

"I'll let you set the bar then," she agreed. "Dual leadership … _shhhh_."

He grinned at her crookedly and was about to respond when someone tapped on his shoulder, and he turned to see Jamie with a put-upon smile on her face. "Mind if I cut in?"

Elin didn't look her way before she popped up to give Chance a quick kiss on the cheek. "Thanks for the dance. Have fun."

Jamie watched Elin with a frown until she got back to the table with the rest of the group of friends before she turned back to Chance with her best smile. "It's very sweet of you to take care of your friend like that."

"Yeah, she's my best friend. Since we were kids," Chance said distractedly, almost automatically, though his attention was clearly elsewhere.

Jamie fought the urge to roll her eyes. This had been much easier when they were in Canada and he was too busy to really talk to anyone but her — and only because she _made _the time to talk to him. Here? It was obvious that he was interested in someone else, and considering all the gossip swirling around… everyone else knew it, too.

She was going to have to stay on her toes the rest of the night or he'd end up pursuing her, and that would wreck all of her plans to work on him and get him to turn her way. Not to mention the fact that the _staff _was watching — K was chaperoning, and Jamie could feel the woman's eyes on her — and she wouldn't be able to do much with her and Wolverine both glaring at her, not to mention Chance's nosy sister and his overly-involved posse of friends.

She had planned to work slowly, since she had time and she had already spoken with the government liaison office at the school about making sure he stuck around. But at this rate, if she didn't do something bigger, he'd ask the little Howlett girl out by the end of the night — or the next time he came to Westchester. She didn't even have to be a powerful telepath to know that he had been about to do it when she stepped in, either.

He would be a little harder to work with simply because of the training he had. When she'd turned a few others for Hydra and for the department, they didn't have much in the way of psychic defense, and with a little _boost_, she'd been able to pull them on puppet strings until they were in too deep and she could turn them over to someone else.

That wouldn't work here, and she knew it, so now, the question was how to get his guard down.

The _usual _way Jamie had been handling things was to let the liaison's office suggest the drugs first — with official assurances that they weren't using an addictive brand, that it was just to help them reach their full potential, yadda yadda, and Jamie would step in if they said no. But she did have some telepathy-branded boost in her car, and she had found long ago that "new" telepaths had absolutely no way to stop her from walking right into the newly opened door to their minds once they had that telepathic channel.

Considering his family, though, she would have to be careful and make sure he thought that she had asked to be let in. As long as he thought he was making his own decisions, there wouldn't be any red flags, and she could steer him away from the Howlett girl — at least for tonight. After that, she might ask the liaison's office for some backup; he really was far gone over that girl, and it was bad enough that she could see in his thoughts that he was already regretting being in Canada without her.

When Jamie caught Chance as he looked over Elin's way once more, that decided it for her. She would have to stage a telepathic intervention or she'd lose two months of work that she'd poured into this boy. And it had to be tonight.


	14. Chance, No

**TRIGGER WARNING FOR THIS CHAPTER AGAIN. Same reasons as before.**

* * *

**Chapter 14: "Chance, No"**

* * *

Chance was sure he was dehydrated after all that dancing, and he had the light headache that usually came from pushing a training session too hard. He was drinking water like a fish, though he was pretty sure Jamie was drinking something a little more substantial than that, the way she was hanging on him — so he had insisted they take a cab out to get dessert instead of taking Jamie's car.

The headache hadn't gone away, though, by the time Jamie directed their cab driver on just where to stop, and he kept rubbing his forehead absently as she tugged on his hand to get him to come with her.

He glanced up to see the ritzy hotel and frowned. "I told you I don't want to go overbo-"

"Oh, relax," she said. "We can go swimming, and the suite has a hot tub."

He shook his head. "Really, I thought we could just go out—"

"Look, it's already in our name. We can't _not _use it," Jamie said, looking totally put out with him as she pulled him to the checkout counter. "I blew half a month's paychecks on this! This is the one shot I get for the senior dance!"

At that, he almost groaned. "You really didn't have to do that."

"Well, I wanted to. You only get one senior year," she insisted. "And I heard the views of the city are to _die _for. Come on. You're supposed to be some big superhero — don't tell me you're tired out _already_!"

Chance shook his head lightly. It wasn't that he was tired — he just… had sort of been looking forward to getting back home. He hadn't really been _home _since the arrest, and while the dance was fun and everything, he wanted to go back…

He wanted to talk to Elin.

He knew it was ridiculous, and that he was literally right that moment on a date with Jamie, but seeing Elin with Gerry… He just… He knew if he didn't tell her how he felt, he was going to burst. And he hadn't even really asked Jamie to start hanging on him like she was.

He wondered if she knew. She was low-level telepathic, after all, so he couldn't help wondering if she knew he really wasn't interested, if she had picked up on his seething jealousy. And he really, honestly _did _feel bad about that. He had no one to blame but himself for not asking Elin out and for saying 'yes' when Jamie asked him to the dance. But still. He wanted to talk to Elin when he got back home, so he had been expecting just a restaurant, some ice cream maybe. Not… a _hotel_.

But Jamie had already waltzed off to go get them checked in and to confirm the reservations she'd made. And he did feel bad that she had spent all that money on the place. So he couldn't exactly figure out how to tell her that he just… wasn't that interested.

He grabbed a bottle of Gatorade from the vending machine while she checked them in, still with that same headache that was making it harder to think of a way to get out of the situation he'd found himself in, and he didn't say much as they got in the elevator to the upper floors where the suites were.

Jamie watched him out of the corner of her eye for a while, hanging on his arm so that she could more closely keep an eye on his mood, and then she pushed her lower lip out in a pout. "You're mad at me."

"I'm not _mad _at you."

"You are. I can tell. You always do this when you're mad at someone and don't want to hurt their feelings," she said, resting her chin on his shoulder. "It's too much, right? I went overboard?"

"It's _fine_."

She watched him for a second longer before she pulled on his hand to turn him and then kissed him hard, and the buzzing headache seemed to get a little stronger. For a second, he thought he could almost… feel something in the air. Or… he wasn't sure how to describe it. It didn't seem to mesh with any of his senses, and it was hard to figure out what it was when he was surprised at the fact that she was kissing him.

The elevator door dinged open, and even though Chance was still trying to figure out the headache he was fighting, he did have to admit when they got to the suite that the view was spectacular. There was a balcony that overlooked the whole city with its sparkling nightlife, and, as she'd said, there was a small jacuzzi out on the balcony as well. He had just turned to tell her goodnight and that he hoped she liked her stay at the hotel when she interrupted him with an enthusiastic grin and a bounce.

"Nice, right?" Jamie said, gesturing around the place. "I know, I know, you can thank me later," she added before he could say anything. Instead, she pulled him out onto the balcony, pulling on his shoulders so she could kiss him harder.

It was getting harder to order his thoughts with the headache growing, not to mention the other sort of buzzing in the air that was growing stronger as Jamie got more involved, with her hands in his hair as she pushed him back against the wall, only this time it wasn't just a sort of lingering feeling that he couldn't really place. This was definitely psychic — he'd been around it his whole life, after all.

Chance stopped and pulled back, blinking hard, trying to figure out where the psychic assault was coming from as it kept pulling at the corners of his mind. He figured he should probably get his guns at least, in case it was something bad, like Sinister — but Jamie looked annoyed and tugged on his collar to get his attention.

"What is _up _with you?" she asked.

He shook his head at her. "Sorry," he muttered, his attention clearly elsewhere as he glanced around for the source of the intrusion and reached for his comm. He could deal with the fact that she was _kissing _him later — it was more important that he figured out what the heck was going on at this hotel. "It's just — I'm pretty sure we're not alone."

"What?"

"There's a telepath here — some kind of…" But he trailed off when Jamie's annoyed expression turned into amusement and she started to laugh. "What?"

"That was _me_, you idiot!" she said.

He stared at her. "What?"

"I'm telepathic, remember?"

But he was frowning at her as he thought it over. "You've never been able to get into my mind before."

"What, and you think I can't get better at my powers? Didn't you _grow up _in a school? Come on, Chance," Jamie shot back, sounding downright insulted.

"Why are you even…" He frowned as he tried to reorder his thoughts. He didn't think she had breached his psychic defenses, but he did feel off, like he couldn't make connections from one thought to the next.

"I just wanted to have a little _fun_," she said, shaking her head before she pulled his head down so she could kiss him to keep from having to answer any more questions.

Chance honestly wasn't sure what to do at this point. He could hear Jamie knocking on his psychic defenses, but between the kissing and the knocking and the headache, he just couldn't form the thought to tell her he wasn't _interested_.

_There's nothing wrong with having fun with my powers, _she said, tugging on his lip with her teeth and pulling him backwards. _The bobby pin at the top right. _

He didn't even think about it as he pulled the pin and her hair came down from the updo, falling over her shoulders as she started to pull on his tie to get it undone. _Any other surprises you want to tell me about?_

_No, _was the simple reply. He could feel her still picking at the edges of the psychic defenses Rachel had taught him years ago. _But I _can _tell you this is more fun if you let me in._

_I don't… really… do that._

_There's a clasp on the zipper, _she told him, and he found that too. _I'm not trying to find out what kind of toothpaste your precious X-Men use or anything. Just loosen up and have a little fun, huh? _

Despite himself, he thought of Krissy, and he couldn't help but say, _I know how to have fun._

_Then trust me, would you? _She grinned into the kiss she was giving him. _If you don't like it, I won't do it again. _

Chance frowned and started to pull back, but when he could _feel_ just how disappointed Jamie was, like it was ringing in his own head until _he _was disappointed, he paused again. _You won't be able to get into any locked doors in there, _he told her.

_I won't try. This is just… fun. _

Chance paused a moment longer before he very carefully down his psychic defense, just barely enough to let her peek over the wall, and Jamie rushed in like a tidal wave, pushing everything else aside so that all he knew in that moment was exactly what she was thinking and feeling.

Which made the next part a whole lot easier.

* * *

It was quiet — most of the mansion was still asleep — as Elin got her coffee and settled in to try and wake up slowly. Everything had been bothering her about the mess that had happened with Jacob and all of the fallout at school after the fact. The whole school — and all of the teachers — knew she was a mutant, and someone working in the office had looked up her address and let slip that she was _from _the mutant school … paired up with a few intrepid junior reporters, it was really just a matter of time. They knew about her family.

And the shift had gone from the usual horrible stuff kids said to a new angle where some of the kids who just had nothing nice to say to anyone ever started in asking her if she was just bad enough at being anything like her parents that she _couldn't _go to the school.

It was high time for her to follow through on her plan and see if Scott would allow her to try and implement everything he tried to teach in human-mutant relations. Of course … that was going to be a fun conversation, and she wasn't about to crack open that can of worms unless she knew he was in a reasonably open mood to start with.

So that's where she was … sitting in the window seat in the kitchen near the coffee maker, sipping at her mug with her knees pulled to her chest as she watched the world outside wake up. Which meant she was there to see it when a red sports car pulled up the driveway and Jamie dropped Chance off — and he slipped in, still wearing the suit from the night before.

For an instant, Elin raised her eyebrows, but quickly let out a breath. "Of course."

When Chance came in from the garage, it looked like he had just meant to grab some coffee, and he obviously hadn't expected to see her there, because he stopped short and blinked at her for a second. "Oh. Hi," he said, suddenly flushing bright red.

"Hello," Elin said back, perfectly neutral in tone.

"I was just…" He gestured at the coffee.

"It's fresh. Help yourself."

He nodded lightly and went to go pour himself a mug. The bright smile he'd had on when he got inside was gone, but he was still moving around with some extra energy as he asked, "Want anything?"

"No, I'm fine," she said, shaking her head lightly as she watched him for a moment. "Thank you."

He grinned at her and nodded. "I'll just… go… upstairs then," he said, gesturing vaguely toward the door leading to the stairs before he took his coffee with him, still fairly red around the cheeks.

She frowned at his back as he left, her nose scrunched up slightly at the _scent _that flat out didn't belong there. Burning plastic tainting the otherwise pleasant scent of sandalwood, motor oil, and sunshine … but … he was in high spirits, so she wasn't about to touch that with a ten foot pole if that's what he wanted to do with himself.

It wasn't like he didn't know about what boost did, and with his appearance and the other scents stuck to him, it was clear that her original outlook of being Chance's placeholder was still solidly true. And considering how their dance ended — and how Chance's date obviously ended — Elin was feeling pretty used. And she thought it was a pretty crappy way to handle a friend, honestly.

But that just meant she wasn't in a mood to play overly nice when Scott finally did show up. "Do you have a few minutes?" Elin asked, skipping over her usual quiet good morning.

Scott raised an eyebrow at the quick hello. "Of course," he said. "Mind if I bring coffee?"

"We can do it right here if you like. I'm not hiding anything."

"Alright. What's on your mind?" Scott asked with a small frown.

She took a deep breath and met his gaze. "I told you that I was more or less outed at school — for everything, right?" When he nodded, she simply pushed forward. "I want to put your lectures into action. I already talked to Dad … I'm dropping the mask for missions."

Scott looked stunned to hear it. "Your dad okayed that?"

"He said he'd rather that we knew for sure if there was an interested party rather than get blindsided if they figured it out before I took the mask off. It's gotta happen sooner or later anyhow." She tipped her head. "He's not thrilled, I won't lie, but he understands where I'm coming from. The kids at school have already figured out who my parents are. If someone decides to tip off the wrong people …" She blew out what was left of her breath and pushed her coffee cup away from herself. "But that's not really … I mean, I've already decided that part. I wouldn't have done that without at least telling you about it first."

Scott was frowning, but he nodded along lightly. "Alright," he said slowly.

"I want to start wearing my jacket publicly outside of missions," Elin said. "If we're going to try to reach out to people … then I want to reach out. I don't want to drop out of the public school. Not without making sure that the stupid crap that people say isn't totally debunked first."

At that, Scott almost smirked. "You want to make them eat their words," he said, the understanding hitting him with her expression.

"That is the 'fight me' way of saying it," she said.

Scott smirked wider at that. "Isn't it accurate?"

She cleared her throat and carefully folded her hands over each other on the table. "Yes. But also … I want to do it without cracking skulls open if I can manage it." Her eyes flashed for an instant. "The way they talk about my family makes me want to just … pull every dirty trick I know. But that just proves them right. So …"

Scott nodded. "You just need to be careful — this will put more of a spotlight on you."

"It also makes it easier for me to not see how many teeth I can shove down their throats when I have a reminder of why not to."

"It's always good to have a reminder like that," he agreed, watching her carefully. He took a deep breath and let it out. "I don't see why not," he said at last. "You're one of the only ones on the team who's left to hide their identity, seeing as the other two are an elf and an alien and Gerry looks so much like his dad."

"I also kind of think that publicly showing the town that we're not trying to be our own little commune might help with the local PR," Elin said a little quieter. "I know it's always been a matter of not causing trouble and keeping to ourselves … but it's getting bigger than that now."

"It is," he agreed. "To be honest, I was thinking about doing more myself, publicly." He smiled at her. "Hopefully not as disastrously as the last United Nations visit."

"I thought that was excellent," she said. "Half of the kids at school have a snippet of it on their cell phones."

"If I could reliably say that Logan will shut down a politician every time I take him somewhere, I'd put him on public relations," Scott smirked. "And he would never speak to me again."

"He'd hate it," Elin said with a smile. "So. Much."

"I know," Scott said with a nod. "But you're right; there's too many of us now to stay isolated. And the isolation is part of why governments are getting away with their programs — no one outside the community is really aware of it."

She was nodding along to that. "I'll carry both comms," she said. "Because … you know James finally finished the new ones. And he thinks you might like them alright."

At that, Scott broke into an honest smile. "I'm sure I will."

She got to her feet and took a few steps over to give him a hug. "Thank you for hearing me out."

He grinned and hugged her back. "That's what I'm here for," he pointed out.

* * *

Chance was surprised when he got back to Canada that he was once again called back to the liaison's office since, well, it hadn't been three weeks, he hadn't gotten into any trouble, and if anything, he was doing better in all of his classes without the extra time spent working on the suit — though he'd be lying if he said he wouldn't have swapped all his A's and B's for the suit. In a heartbeat.

It had already been a weird weekend, too, because he had somehow wound up sticking with Jamie, which… he hadn't really expected. But after the dance and everything that had happened, he honestly couldn't just… drop her either. He'd let her push him too far, and he'd have to set some boundaries with her, but he couldn't just …

Yeah, he'd really screwed this up somehow, and he still wasn't entirely sure how he'd done it. Not that it hadn't been fun — and a whole new experience sharing minds… Which he also wasn't entirely prepared for either. And he'd be lying if he said he didn't want to do it again, because it really had been something else. Maybe not… maybe not with _Jamie _necessarily... but it had been indescribable getting lost in someone else like that.

It just… wasn't what he had been expecting. And he was still trying to figure it out. And he had _no _idea how he'd gotten himself into it or what he was supposed to do about it or how to get _out _of it again. So talking with the government wasn't exactly high on his list of priorities at the moment.

But on the other hand, it would be nice to get into the suit, and he had to get these guys to sign off on that first so he could _fly_.

So, he did his best to push aside getting hung up on how weird the whole weekend had been and how he still wasn't really sure what he had been _thinking _after the dance — literally, he couldn't remember his own thought processes — and headed to the office, where he was surprised to see that it wasn't Horton but someone he'd never met before. The guy was incredibly old, wearing glasses, and in a wheelchair.

"Mr. Summers," the man said. "It's long past time that you and I had a little word."

Chance raised both eyebrows. "I'm sorry; I don't think we've met?"

He smiled up at him and extended his hand. "Jerry Box. Pleasure to meet you." He gestured to the chair across from him. "Please, have a seat."

Chance sat down across from him with a frown. "Can I ask — is there any reason Mr. Horton isn't here or …?"

Box smiled slightly. "I'm a few steps over Mr. Horton's head, young man."

Chance frowned deeper at that, wondering what he had done to get himself involved at an even higher level.

"No need to look so serious," Box said. "I'm here to speak with you about a suit. I am the one who pioneered that entire concept, after all. Mac Hudson simply made it much more … effective."

Chance relaxed when he heard it and couldn't help but smile. "Oh," he said, nodding. "Alright, yeah. I don't mind telling you: it's kind of amazing."

"It truly is," Box agreed with a crooked sort of smile. "But they take time to plan out, and before we can consider that, I'm afraid I have to find out what it is you think a suit should be capable of. It's a little bit different for those of us without superhuman abilities."

Chance nodded along. "I can get along fine without the powers, to be honest," he said. "I just … if you're worried about cost, I really just want to be able to fly, and have the backups in place so my body can handle it-"

He waved his hand at that. "Not what I was concerned with. I just meant in addition to flight and a force shield … you'd need some kind of protective measure … offensive means …"

"I'm a crack shot," Chance said. "And I know how to use swords."

"So I've been told — with the firearms anyhow."

Chance nodded. "Honesty, I'd prefer my own guns if that's possible. They're DNA-coded, and I'm the best shot with them."

"That sounds advanced," Box said. "Is it of your own design?"

He shook his head. "No, one of my best friends is a genius and designed them for me a few years back. I'm more of a mechanic than a weapons designer."

He hummed for just a moment and nodded once. "I suppose that will be acceptable to start with."

Chance tipped his head to the side. "What's that supposed to mean? I don't really need anything more than that."

Box smiled tightly at that. "It just gets to be a little tricky when other designers' products are used across international lines. Nothing to be overly concerned with. I'm sure you can get your friend to sign off on your using them here."

"I didn't realize that would be an issue," Chance admitted.

"With weapons in particular, it can be problematic."

Chance nodded. "Well… alright. I can shoot pretty much anything, and I doubt my friend would like his designs shopped out here. No offense. He's not into sharing."

"None taken," Box replied. "Weapons designers are notoriously paranoid."

Chance nodded. "So, I guess … weapons and flight… that's really it. I'm kind of low-maintenance, honestly," he said with a self-deprecating smile.

Box nodded and let out a breath. "Then I'll tell the boys at the lab to get started on the design."

At that, Chance broke into a huge grin. "Awesome! I mean — thanks," he added belatedly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Keep up the good work, Mr. Summers."

* * *

Elin had made only a few days before someone asked her — loudly — what the deal was with the fancy leather jacket. Though considering that the kid that was asking was one of the few kids in the school that was openly a _fan _of the team, she wasn't entirely surprised.

"I'm on the junior team," Elin said clearly, without missing a beat. "Have been for a while now, actually." And although the initial reaction was one of quiet shock, she realized that it was a breath of pure relief once she'd put it out there. She'd fought murderous special forces … this? This was nothing.

Of course, once that had gotten out and spread like absolute wildfire around the school, it was just a matter of time before the Principal, Mr. Rivera, showed up at her English class wanting a word in private.

"I know that some of the rumors that were spread around were harsh as well as untrue," Mr. Rivera said. "But you can't tell people you're on the X-Men to get them to stop talking."

"I didn't tell them I was on the team to get them to stop talking," Elin assured him. "They are going to talk about me regardless. Believe me — I already know that."

"Then why in the world would you tell them something like that?"

"Because I _am _on the team," Elin said, leveling her gaze with an open expression. "In fact, I'm the leader of the junior team. But they don't need to know that. I'm not going to hide who I am. They already had most of the story anyhow."

"So … which of those rumors are true, then?" Mr. Rivera asked.

"I'm a mutant - and the oldest daughter of Wolverine and K," she replied calmly. "Other than that? I'm on the junior team, and mutants and the X-Men in particular are a threat to no one, unless of course you're trafficking mutants or trying to kill them." She took a breath and let it out slowly. "The truth is: none of that matters. I'll wear my jacket just like you let the athletes wear their team jackets, or the drama club … or whatever other organization you want to use as a model — because this is part of who I am. Outside of that? It should have no impact on anyone unless they push for it to."

"School comes first," he said. "Then your outreach — or whatever you call it. And you'll need to leave your phone here in the office, Miss Howlett."

"I'm going here for my education, yes. But my phone, my comm to reach my team and my panic button will all stay with me. If something comes up during class — and my team needs me to help save someone's life? That is more important than an essay on _Julius Caesar_."

"You can't have a device—"

"It's not a restriction you put on any of the other students here, and it's for my safety," she said. "A direct line to my team if some foreign entity tries to come after me — and before you say that isn't a possibility, think for a moment about who my parents are. It's possible. Not likely, but possible."

Slowly, grudgingly, he nodded, and Elin smirked to herself.


	15. Something's Not Right Here

**Chapter 15: "Something's Not Right Here"**

Krissy was a bit surprised to be the one asked to give the tour, since that was usually something one of the Summerses did. Though she supposed with Chance being gone, they needed more people to fill in, and she didn't mind giving tours and in fact actually kind of enjoyed the performance aspect of it. It was just that, well, this wasn't her usual thing, and she was surprised by it.

Not that she didn't appreciate the chance to deviate a little from her usual routine, especially because it seemed like all Christian wanted to do lately was kiss her and call it 'practice'. She was kind of looking forward to the fact that Thanksgiving was coming up in a couple weeks, and then the semester would be over soon after that — and yes, she was aware that looking forward to being rid of him was a bad sign. But she also really couldn't help the fact that he looked so genuinely _thrilled _when he could kiss her without making her hallucinate, and she just… didn't have the heart to mess with that.

But for now, Krissy was thrilled that Scott had asked her to follow Elin's lead and step up and represent the school a little more.

The girl that she was showing around was actually a student at the Canadian school, but she was transferring in January because her family had moved across the border, and she wanted to stay close to them. In fact, her family had moved that weekend, and that was why she was there and not back at school.

Krissy listened politely to the girl as she went on about how much she was going to miss her old friends at school as they went through the halls and Krissy showed her where the important things — like the game room — were.

"...and I was really just getting used to things up there, you know," the girl was saying as Krissy took her down to where the science labs were. "I was a late bloomer, so I had _no _idea I'd even need to go to one of these schools, and then to get some help with my powers, that was just… I really needed it."

Krissy nodded along. "That's the whole point," she agreed.

"I just don't know what I'll do without the safety net, though," the girl said, a bit wide-eyed. "I mean, where do you go? You don't have a government liaison to supply you, right?"

Krissy paused, her eyebrows scrunched up, though she was _trying _to learn how to put on a poker face, and she managed a semi-decent one (for her, anyway) as she turned toward the girl. "Supply me?"

"Yeah, you know, for boost?" the girl said, in a completely matter-of-fact tone.

Krissy frowned a little deeper. "No," she said slowly, "we don't… that's not how we do things here."

The girl seemed shocked. "But how do you handle your powers?"

"We _learn _to control them," Krissy said, still frowning, but now more than a little concerned. "We have a strict no-drugs policy."

"Boost isn't a drug," the girl said, shaking her head. "It's… just what it says."

Krissy frowned at her for a long moment and then didn't ask before she teleported them both into Hank's lab. "Dr. Blue!" she called out, as the girl looked suddenly worried, what with Krissy keeping a hand on her at all times.

"Is there a problem, Miss Wagner?" Hank called out from around the corner — then peeked around the wall as he hung upside down.

Krissy nodded. "I think … you're going to want to take a look at Colette here."

Hank dropped down — landing on his feet after a little flip and then straightened his lab coat before he made his way over to the girls. "What seems to be concerning, my dear, sweet girl?"

"It's nothing," Colette started to say as Hank gently led her to one of the exam tables, but Krissy cut her off.

"Boost," she said simply. "Apparently, there's an _official _supply of it over the border." Her tail was twitching behind her at the thought of it, especially considering one of her best friends in the world was over there right now.

"Oh?" Hank asked, his eyebrows high and a look of surprise on his features as he turned toward the young lady in his exam room. "Do tell." He simply started checking her over, humming to himself and doing his finest job of being totally relaxed and approachable.

Colette chewed on her bottom lip, though Hank's bedside manner was certainly helping. "Well, yeah," she said slowly. "When I got there, they said it would help me control my powers."

Hank tutted to himself. "Balderdash," he muttered. "In all of our years training young mutants to come into their abilities, we have yet to require anything as drastic as a drug to help hone their skills." He gave her a kind smile. "You'll be incredible without the drug, I assure you."

She looked a bit wide-eyed as she shook her head lightly. "I've never used my powers without them," she admitted.

"There is a first time for everything," Hank said, still with a bright, warm smile.

Colette seemed to regard him carefully, then smiled back at him and even seemed to be totally relaxed by the time the exam was over, though Krissy teleported back to Hank's lab as soon as she had shown Colette off get picked up by her parents.

"So… um. _What_," Krissy said before the smoke had even cleared.

"I'm not sure," Hank said. "I've already informed Scott of the situation, though I am rallying with the thought process that it might be time to send our feral friends north of the border to say hello. Drop in … that sort of thing."

"Yeah, because an _official supply _doesn't exactly sound like a good thing," Krissy said, her tail switching behind her and giving away her irritation.

"Indeed," Hank agreed. "Of course … the other option — and one that might be more wisely followed — would be to simply ask Chance to keep his eyes open."

Krissy nodded. "Well, yeah, that keeps him safe, but what about everyone else?" she pointed out.

"If there is an official dispensary, then he can let us know about it, and his father would likely level the place."

Krissy giggled a bit at that as she hopped up to sit on one of the tables. "Wouldn't that look pretty bad though? 'X-Men go on rampage and destroy rival school' and all that?"

"Well, when you put it like that …"

"Scott said I should try to be more of an ambassador for the team," Krissy said with a small smile.

"Ah, there is the trouble … taking advice on how to be a good ambassador from one who does not know how to relax more often than not."

Krissy gave Hank a dry look. "My problem has _never _been not knowing how to have fun, you know."

"We'll devise a more reasonable solution," Hank promised. "No matter how hard Scott argues that leveling the place to dust would be the most fun and fastest method of correction."

"Maybe after Chance leaves, huh?" Krissy teased.

"I'd venture a guess that Scott would be sure of that before he let loose his wrath."

"Oh possibly," she said with a little laugh before she jumped down from the table and looked a bit more serious. "I just want to make sure one of my best friends in the world is going to be okay, that's all."

"A concern we all share," Hank promised.

"He's doing really well," Krissy said with a little smile. "I saw he got to go out with Alpha Flight on a run… no suit, but he looks really happy."

"Yes, well … he's doing what he loves," Hank reasoned.

Krissy smiled at him. "Thanks, Dr. Blue," she said before she teleported over to give him a hug. "Sorry to drag you away from whatever you were doing."

"It was timely and rather helpful," Hank promised as he squeezed her back. "Now … go wreak a bit of havoc."

"That I can do," she promised with a little twinkle in her eyes before she disappeared in a poof of purple.

* * *

For the most part, the end of the semester came up faster than expected for a lot of the kids. Midterms and then plenty of work on the team… there had been plenty to occupy them. Plus, since Westchester ended early so that the rest of the schools could do exams there for those kids that wanted to be on the team — or even the junior teams at their own schools — that meant there was sort of a mad dash to get done with a whole lot of work all through November.

Which, Sying reflected, was actually pretty nice, because otherwise, he wouldn't have had much to distract him from the fact that Krissy and Christian were _still _a thing, for reasons he simply couldn't fathom, especially when it was clear to him that she wasn't even really flirting with him or joking around with him, just… sort of… letting him be in her space.

She wasn't down to breakfast yet, though, so he wasn't quite to the moping stage that he usually got to when he sat down to breakfast, and besides, he was perfectly well distracted when the news came on talking about the 'next generation of heroes' showing Elin and her dad going with Scott to the Avengers Tower.

It was actually a decent broadcast, too, talking about the cooperation between the two teams and the fact that the next generation had some solid backing, that sort of thing.

Sying couldn't help but smile at the good press, especially when he knew that Scott and Elin had worked that out between themselves, and he bumped Elin's shoulder with his as he sat down beside her. "Nice job," he said, tipping his head to where the broadcast had briefly shown a picture of the full junior squad in action for reference on the 'next generation' angle.

"Yeah, you look great," Elin said, not missing a beat.

"I meant on the whole PR thing, and you know it," he said, shaking his head at her.

"It's gotten a lot easier at school," she said, tipping her head to the side. "But there have been threats to the staff … I think that's the end of my public school run."

"I'm sorry to hear that. The threats to the staff part," he clarified. "I'm not gonna lie: I'll be glad to have you back, if nothing else because I _need _my favorite aunt to complain to," he teased.

"Well the worst part was listening to the teachers being _upset _that I'd leave for their sake," Elin said. "But … it's not time yet, I guess."

"It will be one day," Sying said. "I mean, it's kind of a big deal that you went and they didn't just straight up kick you out, right? Progress?" He said the last word with a dramatic little look.

"Yeah, and Scott talked to them … they're going to make arrangements for us to come in from time to time. Keep the lines of communication open with the kids … especially with some of the older kids manifesting late." She gave him a tight sort of smile. "Part of the job, right?"

"Hey, if we need another ambassador, I could go and pretend to be a clueless alien and see how long they'll believe it," he said, just to tease her into a smile.

"You could," she agreed perfectly straight faced, ignoring his tease to try and rile him.

He grinned. "I could drop Kree words into every other sentence…"

"And it would be amazing … all the way up until they decided we were just screwing with them."

"Yes, but it would be hilarious until then," Sying said, grinning over at her and bumping her shoulder again before he went back to his breakfast.

A few of the others started to trickle in at that point, right around the time that the broadcast was being repeated on the 15-minute mark, and Sying had to smirk when Chance sat down on Elin's other side with a grin.

"I really like the mask-less look," Chance said, still grinning at Elin.

"You're probably still afraid of tiny ninjas," she said as she lifted her mug to her lips.

"Probably," he agreed with a little smile.

"Still waiting to see when your maple leaf will take flight," Elin said in a conversational tone. "Not quite the same look on the ground."

"Yeah, I know," he said. "It's still in development. But definitely after Christmas, though I'm kind of hoping I'll at least get to test fly it before the semester's out."

"Send pictures," she said, smiling his way a little.

"Of the test flight, for sure," he said with a nod. "But I still promised you I'd take you flying when I got it for real. You know, signed on the dotted line and all that. Allowed to take it off the test field."

"You'll let us know," she agreed. "While we're all here just … waiting for the next thing to happen."

Chance waved a hand at the screen. "Seems like you're doing a little more than waiting around, El. Seriously. Good for you — that's amazing!"

"That?" she said, tipping her head toward the screen. "That was a glorified 'take your daughter to work day.'"

"It was a public 'here i am' debut of not just you but pretty much the full team," Chance said. "I mean, you were going as team leader, in uniform, pretty sure that was all you."

"Yeah …" she shrugged. "I guess they were looking for it, though. It wasn't staged."

"Yeah, but it still looked great, and it's a big boost to the team, so… hey. Congratulations. The world welcomes you to the big leagues or whatever," Chance said with a crooked smile.

She smiled into her coffee mug and nodded to herself. "Well … thank you. But you're on that lineup too."

"Yeah, but I already had the 'world welcomes you to the Canadians' so…"

"Attended by six loons, three moose, a beaver, and a woodchuck, right?"

"Hey, I'll have you know there was an elk present too," he laughed.

"Ah, yeah … I forgot our lesser antlered friends. My mistake."

He laughed and shook his head at her. "Seriously, Elin. Dad told me about the whole thing with the school and the jacket and … you're kind of amazing, you know that?"

"You know, you've said that before, but I still think you're just … biased somehow."

Chance leaned over with a grin. "You know, you've said that before, but I still think you're missing the point," he said.

"You think so?" she shot back.

"I know so," he said.

She made a point of sniffing before she picked up her mug. "Maybe. Maybe not."

He shook his head at her, but before he could really argue it, he had spotted Gerry, and he gave Elin's shoulder a squeeze on the way past. "Talk to you later, 'kay?"

"Probably," she said. "I'll be here."

Chance shook his head at her but rushed to catch up to Gerry, who was headed out to go drive around NYU campus with Charlie so she could decide if she wanted to go there or not. But since Charlie wasn't there yet, Chance wanted to catch him for his own advice.

"Can I borrow you?" he asked.

"There's a late charge," Gerry said, grinning his way.

Chance just laughed. "Alright, but I can only pay in, like, ice cream or something."

"Keep your lips to yourself and you got a deal," Gerry said brightly.

Chance nodded, though he pulled Gerry into the garage so they could go for a drive to avoid being overheard — just far enough out that none of the Lee-Varr clan or the Howletts could hear. "Okay, so. Jamie," Chance said, turning to face his friend at last. "I don't know why I'm dating her, and it's kind of weirding me out, and I needed a second opinion, and I know — I know it's weird because she used to be Hydra and there's the background with Viper and you and your mom and all of that — but I don't know, Ger. I really don't know what's happening," he said, the words spilling out all at once.

"Alright well … I mean … _how _did you get all tangled up with her to start with?"

Chance held out his hands as he shrugged. "She just started talking with me at lunch. No one else really talks to her since the Viper thing, so I guess she decided I'd give her a fresh start?" he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "And the next thing I know, she's asked me to the dance, and seeing as Elin was going with Jacob at the time, I didn't really have anyone else to go with…"

"Well yeah, I kinda get that.… She's got a real thing about her that makes you kinda want to give her a chance," Gerry said. "But … how did it go from that to … this?"

"I really don't know," Chance told him honestly. "I don't. I keep trying to figure out how to get out of it, and then I just end up digging myself a deeper hole somehow." He ran a hand through his hair. "It feels like every time I try to break up with her, I end up ... I end up sleeping with her instead. And that's _not _what I'm going for here, Ger, you gotta believe me."

"I dunno … sounds like it's a little more involved than you're letting on."

"Is it?" Chance asked, shaking his head. "I really don't know."

"Well I mean, it's not really easy to go from ready to walk away to fooling around."

"I don't know, Gerry. I come prepared with reasons why and then she'll kiss me and the next thing I know…"

"Maybe don't let her do that then? I mean … if you can't control yourself." Gerry couldn't help but tease a little bit.

Chance threw up his hands. "I should be able to, though! That's the problem here!" he said, totally seriously.

"Do you want to?"

"Well, yeah! At least, I think so," Chance said.

"You need to figure that out first," Gerry told him. "And if you can't around her, then figure it out away from her."

Chance let out a breath and nodded. "Yeah… I just… I swear, I thought I had finally worked up the nerve to ask Elin out and then Jamie came along and …"

"Well if it was that easy, maybe you don't really _want_ to ask Elin out."

Chance's head came up and he stared at Gerry as if he had horns coming out of his head. "Only since I was _two_."

He held up both hands quickly. "Hey. I'm just saying …"

Chance let out a breath and rested his head in his hands. "Yeah, I know. That's what's got me twisted up, to be honest. I don't know how this _happened_."

"It doesn't sound right," Gerry said.

"Thank you," Chance said. "I knew it didn't. I just… I can't figure it out."

"I can't think of any reason to not know how you got into _that _serious of a thing with a girl," Gerry said. "Especially if you were headed toward a different one. Either something is up, or you don't want to try with the other one." He held up a hand again. "And I'm leaving it like that; I don't need the explanation of why I'm wrong. Just girl 'a' and girl 'b'."

Chance nodded quietly as he thought it over and then finally sat up, leaning against the seat of the car with his head tipped back. "Yeah…"

"I know that I might be overstepping? But history on that one considered? You might want to just … not try to figure it out."

"I need to figure out how to break up with her," Chance pointed out.

"Slip out the back jack. Make a new plan, stan…."

"You're turning into Sying," Chance said with a little laugh.

"It is a fitting song, and the title alone should be worth its weight in gold in this situation. 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover … come on."

Chance shook his head lightly. "Yeah, but I don't… I'm trying not to be that guy, Gerry. The one that just up and drops a girl once he's gotten what he wants."

"No, I get that … but if you can't even remember how you got from point 'a' to 'q', then you know … you're not being that guy. Something is wrong."

"No, no, I remember how I got there," Chance said with a little frown. "I think. I just… don't understand it. It's like I lose all ability to argue the point around her. In my head, I know I don't want to sleep with her. And then it's like I just… blank."

"Sounds almost like you're in love," Gerry said.

"I can't be, though," Chance said, looking even more confused as he narrowed his eyes and furrowed his brow. "Not with _Jamie_. Right?"

Gerry shrugged openly. "I don't know. Feelings are more Lottie's thing."

"I'm not asking my sister how to stop sleeping with a girl, Ger."

"No … but you could find out when your 'crush' song is playing easy enough." Gerry grinned. "She lights up like a Christmas tree."

Chance couldn't help but smirk. "You've been spending a lot of time with my sister."

"It's hard to miss," Gerry defended. "And if it's that big of a problem, you know she'll come to you."

"You _know _I trust Charlie more than anything. I just … she already told me I like Elin, so this whole thing with Jamie just drives her nuts. _She _can't understand it either."

"What about James' little girlfriend?"

"The ever-cryptic 'things are being set in motion', yeah, real helpful."

"She said she'd clarify if you ask the right way," Gerry said. "More than Wiccan will do."

Chance nodded lightly. "Yeah… I think… I think you're right, though. Christmas is coming up and I'll have a few weeks on my own. Maybe that'll help clear my head, being back with family and all. Right?"

"Probably the best thing you can do," he agreed.

Chance grinned over at his friend. "Thanks," he said honestly. "I really needed a sounding board."

Gerry grinned at him and nodded. "Any time."

* * *

The holiday break was coming up soon, and the kids who had a place to go were leaving for a few weeks to be with their families. But before the week was out, Jerry Box had another meeting scheduled with the young Chance Summers.

The young man seemed surprised to see Box there, since Horton had been working with him to finalize his contract, and he raised an eyebrow as he sat down. "Something up with the suit?"

"In a way," Box said with a little smirk. "There are a few things that I'd like to discuss with you, but before we do that, I think it's high time that you tried your new flight suit on."

Chance broke into an uncontrollable grin. "Really?"

"Unless you don't think you're ready to take the first step," Box said with a noncommittal shrug.

"What, are you nuts? Of course!" Chance said, the grin growing even wider.

"Then I think you should head on down to the workshop and have Mr. Hudson show you how it's done," Box said. "When the two of you have finished … simply come back so we can figure out the rest."

Chance grinned and got to his feet. "Best early Christmas present ever," he said as he rushed off to go find Mac.

When he got there, Mac was grinning too, and Chance didn't even bother with any small talk or introductions. "Okay. When can we fly?"

"Let's make sure you're fitted to it first, bud," Mac said with a smile.

"Oh fine," Chance said, though he was still grinning.

Mac took the time that was required — and very little more than that — to get Chance situated By the time he had it on — and was just starting to learn the ropes on how to operate the thing — he was nearly bouncing in place with a massive grin splitting his face.

"I guess a race around the world is too big a first step?" Chance teased as he looked over the suit and just couldn't stop grinning.

"I mean … if you just want to start your flight career losing …"

"Hey, if I win, I get bragging rights for the rest of forever. If I lose, it's because it was my first flight," Chance pointed out.

"You won't," Mac said, grinning. "Your specs aren't the same as mine. You're still basic … once you get the hang of it and all signed up, you can start tinkering."

"You'll have to tell me some of the tricks you've used to get the speed up," Chance said.

"Oh, I'll do more than that," Mac promised. "You'll want to know how to fix anything that goes wrong — and it's not so much an engineering thing as it is a repairs after fight kind of thing."

"Hey, I can do that much," Chance agreed, still with a steadily widening grin that was bordering on laughter. "Semester's worth of working with you on this — I think I got it. And Oliver's been a great help too. He's a genius, Mac."

"Oliver's great to tinker with," Mac said. "But he's not a pilot. How about we start off with a solid hover?"

"Oh, okay, if we're starting small," Chance said with a smile.

"And _then _I'll skunk you around the base a few times."

"You're so on," Chance said, grinning wider as he focused on the controls, though once the suit was off the ground, he just started to laugh. He had to take a few minutes to get used to the way the suit worked, but he couldn't stop grinning by the time he came to a stop, still a few inches off the ground, and looked Mac's way. "Okay, that's it; I'm never coming down again."

Mac was grinning broadly. "I know. It's hard to stop, isn't it?"

"Seriously!" He spun around in the air for a moment. "This must be … man. People who can fly can't possibly appreciate it. This is just… wow."

"I happen to think that most people that can do half the stuff that we can't don't get it," Mac said.

Chance was still grinning as he nodded. "It looks okay, though, right? I mean, I feel a little weird..."

"Looks great," Mac said. "And you'll get used to it with a little practice. I promise."

Chance nodded and then tipped his head toward the door. "What do you say? Race you?"

"Sure; I'll even give you a head start," Mac offered.

"Oh, I can cheat on my own," Chance assured him before he simply took off and opened it up, grinning the whole way, even after Mac did catch up to him — because there really was something amazing about flying without a craft.

After Mac passed him, he turned up the speed and did a climb that was nearly straight up before he did a little twist several hundred feet up then swan dived straight down again — totally showing off.

Chance just started laughing as he caught up to Mac again. "Okay, you're teaching me that one."

"I'll teach you a few things. The rest of it, you kinda got to learn just because … you know. Tactical evasion … stuff like that."

"What, you mean it's not just about learning to smoke you in a round-the-world one-on-one?" Chance laughed.

"Um … no…" Mac said, with one eye closed, a lot more drawn out than what was necessary.

"I feel like I've been lied to," Chance teased, still in a great mood as they did a lazier lap than the earlier race. He grinned as he looked down at the ground below them. "Not that I'm complaining. This is _amazing_."

"We'll start working on flight what … start with three, four days a week after break?"

Chance grinned and nodded. "You're on."

When they finally landed and started heading over to get out of the flight suits, Mac was still grinning. "So … when you head back, stop by my office, would you? Heather has a few things she'd like you to bring to the Howlett kids."

"Can do," Chance promised, though he paused and handed Mac his phone. "Hold on. I promised Elin I'd send her a picture when I got to try it out. Can you snap it?"

"You bet," Mac said. "Want to go back up and get the clouds in the background?"

Chance grinned even wider. "That's perfect!" he agreed, taking off as soon as Mac was ready.

"Let's go, then," Mac said, following a step or two behind — phone in hand.


	16. Christmas with the Family

**Chapter 16: "Christmas with the Family"**

"It's not too late to turn around," Kate said as she and her family pulled up to the ornate gates outside of her sister's home. Susan had emailed her out of the blue with an honest-to-goodness attempt at reconciliation, and Kate had a horrible, sinking feeling that it was going to go like the last time, and she just didn't want to ruin the holidays.

"Kate," Kurt said in a gentle tone. "You said you wanted to give her a chance. How long has it been?"

She let her shoulders drop. "Since we only had two elflings," she said quietly. "I just … we have a bad record with holidays. Last time it was Thanksgiving; the time before, she was drunk at Christmas Eve…"

"You have to try," Kurt pointed out.

She let out another breath and then leaned over to kiss his cheek. "You're right, of course," she said.

"Naturally."

She shook her head at that and then stole another quick kiss. "I'll go first," she said. "And if I don't come marching back out in five minutes, you can assume it's safe to try the whole... Meet the family thing. Again." She tipped her head to the kids in the back. "If it ends up being horrible, we're all going somewhere with Swiss chocolate."

She slipped out of the car after that and headed inside, though she was a bit surprised when the woman who met her at the door had the unmistakable uniform of a nurse — and just like that, all of her earlier worry about ruining the holidays melted away into a different kind of worry for her big sister.

She had a sinking feeling as she followed the sweet older lady all the way back to where Susan was laid out in a very nice king-size bed.

"_Susie_," Kate breathed out when she saw how pale her sister looked.

Susan smiled lightly. "Hi, Kate."

"Susie, why didn't you tell me?" she asked, her eyes wide as she pulled up a seat next to her sister. "What's going on — what do you need?"

"Kate, I've got my own doctors and money and—"

"No, seriously, I'll find you something. We've got Lifeguard — he's kind of brilliant, and if it's something he can heal, then he can fix you right up," Kate blurted out.

Susan shook her head and sat up. "Well, unless you know how to cure thirty years of drugs and drinking…"

Kate frowned, biting her bottom lip as she looked her sister over. When she'd been a PI in LA, she'd seen this exact kind of thing often enough — it was just… something else entirely when it was her big sister.

But when Kate had trailed off, Susan reached over and rested her hand on Kate's. "I'm not asking for anything, as hard as that is to believe."

"That's not what I was—"

"I wouldn't blame you if you were," Susan said.

Kate let out a breath. "I don't know, Susie. If I'd known…"

"To be honest, Kate, I didn't want to tell you," Susan said, sitting up a little straighter.

"So what changed your mind?"

Susan was quiet for a long time and then let out a breath. "I got a number."

"What?"

"You know… the number of months they're expecting me to make it," Susan said without looking up at Kate. "Really puts things in perspective."

Kate stared at her sister for a long time. "How long?"

"Not enough time to do another Christmas," Susan admitted.

"Susie…."

"It's fine," Susan said. She leaned forward with a small smile. "I know we left things off on a bad foot, Katie, but this is my last Christmas, and I want to spend it with my sister, if that's okay."

"Of course it is," Kate said without even thinking about it before she simply started to climb in to sit next to Susan and wrapped her up in a hug, her lip quivering for a moment, though when Susan just clutched her tightly, Kate started to cry. "Susie, you should have told me."

"You have your own stuff to deal with," Susan said.

"Yeah, but you're my sister," Kate said.

Susan hugged her again. "I'm really glad you came, Katie."

Kate bit her lip. "Well, I have a good husband. He reminded me that it's more important to mend bridges."

Susan frowned for a moment. "Kate…"

Kate matched her sister's frown. "Susie, you have two nephews and two nieces, and you haven't even met my boys."

"Can we not talk about this right now?"

"Krissy's sixteen now, Susan."

"Which one is Krissy?"

"My oldest," Kate said. "She's a romantic. Actually, she's a lot like you."

"Except the color—"

"_Susan_." Kate glared at her sister. "You're not going to make it to next Christmas, and you're seriously going to sit here and argue with me on this instead of meeting the family you still have left?"

"Did you really come here to lecture me?"

"No, I came to spend Christmas with my sister — and I'd really like to be able to bring my kids to meet their only aunt before she _dies_, Susan!" Kate said.

For a long time, the two Bishop sisters watched each other before Susan finally nodded. "Fine," she said. "I will do this — this one time—"

"Not like there's going to be another one. _Seriously, _Susan. We're grown women. Can't we act like family for a little while?" Kate asked. She put on her best puppy dog pout and cuddled up so that her head was on Susan's shoulder. "Please?"

"What were you just saying about being grown women?"

"I threw that out the window," Kate said. "Come on; I just want to be with my big sister."

Susan sighed. "You're not playing fair."

"Not trying to."

"Fine."

Kate smiled lightly and hugged her sister again. "I'll bring the boys first. You haven't met them at all."

"Whatever. You're running the show," Susan said, shaking her head — though to Kate's immense relief, she at least managed a little smile when she met Kaleb and Kade and even looked between Kaleb and Kate for a moment before she had to say, "He looks just like his father."

"Acts like him too," Kate said with a little smile.

"And you look just like Mom," Kade sang out with a wide smile.

Susan stared at the red-furred little boy and then shook her head lightly and even managed a tight smile. "No, she looks like me. I got here first."

"Oh, okay," Kade said, nodding along, and Kate couldn't help but smile.

This...was actually going better than she had expected.

* * *

As usual, Christmas was set to be a big day — with big plans for everyone that was still at Xavier's, but as was tradition at this point, K was setting up breakfast before Annie could get up a little later than usual. It was more than just a simple time thing … once Mrs. Summers got up, she'd take enough time for her sweet tea before she launched into an epic cooking marathon, and K liked to make sure that Annie had a chance to eat before she started on big efforts like that.

Which was why K and Elin had been drinking coffee since five while they made several large pans of cinnamon rolls before they got started on K's swedish pancakes.

They were on their second pot between the two of them before Logan swept through to kiss both of them and steal a cup of coffee. As was part of the holiday morning cooking, he was covering the chores in the barn, and Elin smiled as she watched her father head out into the gently falling snow, whistling to himself.

And as was also traditional, Chance managed to find his way down ahead of the rest of the family. Since they were kids, he'd always made it a point to give Elin the first present every year — at this point, it was just as traditional as the Christmas dinner.

"Merry Christmas!" he sang out with a little grin.

"Yours is in the tree," Elin said as soon as she saw him. "And Merry Christmas to you too, Sweet Summers."

His grin widened as he sat down beside her. "We'll go find it later, then," he said as he handed her the envelope with her card in it. "The rest is under the tree, but you know how it is. Gotta make sure you get the card."

She gave him a little smile for that. "Gotta be first," she said, then set her mug down and stepped around the counter to give him a quick hug. "Are you going to have coffee or just go back to bed now that you've accomplished your 'firsties' mission?"

"Well, at least open it first and then I'll decide."

She looked over her shoulder at her mother then grabbed her coffee to head into the living room. "Only if you get yours out of the tree, too."

He grinned at that and headed over to the tree, coming back with two wrapped boxes — one for her and one for him. He leaned over as she opened up the card, which was, as always, hand-printed, though this one had a picture of Chance in the suit in the clouds along with a written promise to take her flying.

"Oh, that's pretty much framing quality," she said with a crooked smile. "Thank you."

"It's still not allowed to leave Canada until I'm officially all signed and squared away, but as soon as that happens, we should find a weekend and go flying. It's _amazing_." He grinned even wider. "We'll fly over the ocean and get some Spanish food… I really want to _fly_."

She shook her head but kept smiling at him. "You making plans to drop me in open water?"

"Hey, I thought we agreed I could at least raise the bar a few inches. I'm making plans to really _fly_."

"You'd probably get tired pretty fast though if you have to deal with me just hanging on to you, though," Elin pointed out.

"You have no faith in me," he laughed as he started to unwrap his present, then grinned when he saw the new bridle, his eyebrows high on his head as he let out a low whistle.

"I ordered it months ago," Elin told him. "So I hope you can still find time to ride with me. I know it's not _flying._"

He grinned and leaned over to wrap her up in a hug. "We should go riding as soon as the snow lets up," he said.

"But it's more fun when it's coming down," Elin pointed out. "Just can't run as fast."

"Yeah, but it's supposed to pick up, and some of us don't have enhanced senses and get lost in the woods," he teased her.

"Well, you know what mom says, right?" Elin said with a grin. "She used to get lost all the time. You drop the reins and they'll take you to the barn." She shrugged. "And if you're scared, you can ride with me."

"I dunno, El, kinda sounds fun," he teased.

"Of course it is," she said, shaking her head before she opened up the wrapped, overly large package to reveal the leather jacket inside. "Oh, that's cute — and I like the little 'x's on the shoulders. Nice touch."

"Hey, you're entitled," he said with a grin. "Out there leading the charge. Fledgling fearless leader," he teased.

"Oh, come on," she laughed before she leaned over to hug him back for the gift and then pinched his side. "That is an exclusively Summers name. Patented."

"I dunno, El. You're fearless, you're the team leader…"

She shook her head and let out a breath. "I can't even argue with you."

"It's because I'm right, isn't it?"

"No, that's ridiculous," she laughed.

"What, I can't be right ever?" he grinned. "You've carved out such a sad life for me, El."

"I didn't say 'ever', just … not for that." She was still grinning at him. "Besides … you've got the whole glamorous life of a snowbound hero thing going on. Not sad at all. And the suit is cute."

"You really think so?" he asked, perking up. "I mean… maple leaf and all?" he added, flushing a bit red.

She finally got up and picked up her mug. "There was a leaf?" She tipped her head to the side. "Huh."

His ears turned a brighter red at that. "Yeah. Well, Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas to you too — now come on … have some coffee before you try to avoid me for the bulk of the day."

"I'm not — come on, we were just making riding plans!"

She gave him a bright smile. "I'm picking. I'm sorry. I'll tone it down, I've just been up for a while with no one but mom …"

"Oh, is that what's going on here?" Chance shook his head with a little smile before he got to his feet. "I'll leave you two to it, then. I really do have to go with Mom, though. We're going to pick up Grandpa for Christmas."

"Let us know if you need us to kick in and help. We're going to be around."

"If you see me running in and out of the kitchen with a 'help me' sign on my back, it's because my mom and her sisters are working me to the bone, and you should step in," he teased.

"I have nothing going after the pancakes are finished," she pointed out. "So it's possible."

"Great. I'll make the sign on the drive out."

"Make sure you eat before you go or _my _mom will make you pay for it."

"And heaven forbid I have four of them all making me pay on Christmas Day," he said with a smile as they got back to the kitchen.

"No, no," Elin said. "You're a residential Canadian now — she'll get you tomorrow. Boxing Day. You know. With _Boxing_."

"Oh man, I didn't even consider that!" he laughed.

Before he could argue, K slid a plate in front of him and kissed his forehead. "_God Jul_."

"Merry Christmas to you too," he said with a smile.

He was just about done, too, when the others started to trickle in, including Annie, who couldn't help but give K a quick hug. "You are a godsend," she said with a smile.

"If I don't feed you, you won't make it through preparations," K said, sliding a plate to her.

Annie smiled warmly at her. "It should be a good day," she said. "Mom says Dad's already up and excited to see people."

K smiled at her and nodded. "Good. He's a sweetheart. He deserves more good days."

Annie nodded. "He won't remember anyone's name — not even mine. He recognizes everyone, but he doesn't have names. Just a warning."

"I'm not expecting anything," she said. "And I'll keep an eye out."

"Chloe's going to spend a lot of the day with him," Chance put in. "She looks like Mom, so he likes having her around."

"He'll be distracted when Mary Beth and her husband stop by and he can feel the baby kicks," Chloe pointed out.

"He's not the only one," K said, watching Annie with a sideways glance.

"My niece is having a baby; I will make absolutely no apologies about showering her with affection," Annie said with a sniff, though she was smiling around her bite of breakfast.

"Mmmhmm, and that's only for family, is it?" K challenged. "Not … just about every baby in the oven you come across?"

"It's worse when it's family," Cody said with a grin.

"Oh, hush," Annie said with a laugh, reaching over to ruffle his hair before she finished off the rest of her breakfast and then nodded toward Chance.

"Time to play chauffeur," Chance said with a grin and a wave as the two of them headed out.

From there, it was the usual whirlwind of activity around the mansion, even with the Wagners in the city and the Lee-Varr clan in Hala — though they had sent a few pictures from the planet that Kari was particularly excited about and wanted to paint with the new paints that James had given her for Christmas after she and her family got back from Susan Bishop's house.

"See this landscape?" she asked, showing James the picture of Jubilee and Noh and their family with Sinta and his two boys.

"Yeah, I can see why you'd pick that one," James agreed, nodding lightly as he peeked over at the picture, though he stayed sunk into the couch with his feet kicked up.

"The colors … it's not like anything we have here…"

"And the light …"

She grinned at him. "I'm totally going to give it to Noh for a birthday present. I should get it done in time."

"Oh, I'm sure you will. You're getting faster too," James agreed.

"Practice," Kari said, then leaned over to wrap him in a hug. "Thanks, James."

"I didn't even do anything," he argued, though he returned the hug. "I just agreed with you."

"Thanks for the paints, I meant," she said with a smile.

"Oh, well. Gotta keep my favorite artist in supplies."

"You're the best," she said, sneaking one more hug before she disappeared.

And in the meantime, while the Hale sisters were using their nephews as gophers in the kitchen, Douglas was shamelessly flirting with Evelyn whenever she would sit with him — and with a few of the other women when Evelyn wasn't around. Clearly, Evelyn was his favorite, and he even proposed going out on a few dates with her, so he was in fine form that day.

When he started telling stories, K gave the little reporter bamf a look, and an instant later, the little guy was recording every moment of the old war stories and tales from his youth, though for some of them, the little guy was having trouble not giggling.

"Thank you," Annie said, pulling K aside when she had taken a break from the crazy rush of dinner — which was almost ready anyway.

"You know, I can watch things in the kitchen if you want to take a little time with your father," K offered.

"We're starting dinner in fifteen minutes," Annie said. "And then I'm making the boys do the dishes."

"That sounds like a reasonable plan — and they'll all sleep like rocks tonight too."

"I'm sure," Annie said with a smile before slipping back into the kitchen — only to return a little later with half the Hale clan in her wake to set out the dinner for everyone to eat.

All of the Hale sisters and their husbands were at the head of the table spending time with their dad, though the others were all spread out. The Wagners were chatting amongst themselves, except for Kaleb, who was filling Sadie in about the aunt he'd only just met and how he wasn't sure how to feel about that. And Chance was talking to Elin about their riding plans close by the other Hales — which was probably what Douglas overheard when he leaned forward with a smile.

"You make sure you treat her right, son," he said with a twinkle in his eyes. "Pretty woman like that deserves to be treated like a lady."

"Yes, sir," Chance said, the tips of his ears burning red.

Elin looked surprised for just a moment, but when it was clear Douglas was entertained by Chance's blush, she tried to help out — or at least send his attention elsewhere. "He's a gentleman," Elin promised.

"He'd better be," Douglas said, still smiling at them both.

"We're just riding horses, Grandpa," Chance said.

"That does sound fun," he said, smiling even wider. "I hope you both enjoy yourselves."

"Dad," Theresa cut in, though she looked highly entertained herself, "what about that horse you had when we were stationed in Maine?"

And just like that, Douglas was grinning and laughing as he remembered the old mare — "She wasn't mine; she just followed me everywhere" — and by the time K brought out the warm wine, the whole family was in a good mood.

Scott leaned over to Annie with a smile. "Merry Christmas," he said quietly.

"Merry Christmas."

* * *

When Elin and Chance finally got away from the group after dinner, they barely made it to the barn before she turned to apologize. "I was trying to slow him down back there. Sorry."

"No, it's fine," he said quickly. "We all just run with whatever he says and… and I mean… I _was _raised a gentleman, so it's not like you were lying or anything…" he added with a crooked sort of smile.

"And I'm not about to lie for anyone, so …"

He grinned at that. "So let's break in this new bridle."

"Does that mean you're not afraid to get lost in the snow now?" she teased. "Or that you want to be the one steering?"

"Hey, it's my Christmas present. It's Christmas Day… don't I get to use it?"

"Of course you do," she agreed, nodding. "Pick your horse."

He grinned and went to his favorite mare, who had been a filly when he was still young enough to be serving all his groundings in the barn and consider that a punishment instead of some time with the horses. The snow was still coming down — though it wasn't as hard as it had been projected to be — so it was the perfect Christmas ride.

While Chance was setting up his new bridle, Elin took out her mother's gelding and just started brushing him out before she put a braid into his mane and then turned to watch Chance finish up. "Waiting on you."

"Yeah, yeah, hold your horses," he said with a little smirk.

"Holding pattern," Elin said as the gelding started to gently paw at the ground.

Chance shook his head at them both before he finally finished up and then mounted up. "Lead the way."

She took the gelding outside and asked him to bow so she could climb on then nosed him toward the trees. "What do you think? Nice and easy around the lake? That's probably the least icy trail."

"We who cannot heal thank you for your consideration," Chance said with a grin.

"Just because I _can _heal doesn't mean I want to _have _to," she pointed out.

"Yeah, but it's a great line anyway."

"If you say so," she sang out.

He just shook his head and grinned at her. "We need to do this more often, El."

"Yeah? Well … I'm here now all the time. So whenever it works on your schedule."

"I'm flying four days a week next semester, but I'll try and sneak down, fly over here in the suit or the ship, whatever works," he said.

"No, no," she said, shaking her head. "You need to not kill yourself on my account."

"Yeah, well…" He shrugged. "I want to. Not the killing myself part but the … I think … I need to get down here more. I miss… this." He gestured around to the grounds in general.

She turned to look at him for a moment. "You didn't miss it that much when you were overseas."

"Yeah, I did, but I didn't say it much because I was there for a different reason," Chance said. "I mean, can you imagine how much worse Dad would've felt if I even hinted I was homesick?"

She let out a sigh and nodded her head. "Yeah, he would have gotten himself into trouble."

"Charlie was worried about him for a while," Chance admitted.

"She was right to be," Elin agreed. "He was spending all of his free time looking for Mr. Creepy Lady."

Chance let out a breath of a laugh. "I've never heard that one before, but I think I'm going to have to keep it."

"It fits," she defended.

"It does," he agreed. He shook his head. "See… I don't know if I can call her that, though," he added, a bit more seriously.

"Not a lady, I get it," she said with a smirk.

He couldn't help but match her smirk. "No, I just — it's easier to call her 'Sinister.' I know Mom's got a thing about 'that woman' or whatever, but that feels too casual to me. If that makes sense."

"It does," she agreed. "Mom and Dad have more colorful names, but your mother wouldn't likely approve."

"Mom still doesn't know half of what Cody said to her," Chance said with a small smirk.

"That's probably for the best," Elin said a little quieter.

"I mean, I'm not ratting him out when he saved my life," Chance said, matching her soft tone.

"I know. I just mean … you say things around that particular creep that you wouldn't normally."

Chance nodded. "Yeah, she has a way of…" He shook his head. "You know what, it's Christmas. Let's not talk about her, huh?"

"Yes, please. Pick anything else, please."

"Well, how about — did you hear Charlie's applied to, like, ten different colleges because she can't decide where she wants to go?"

"That's not really news," Elin chuckled. "I'm surprised it wasn't more."

"She got an early acceptance letter from a school in Europe but I don't think she'll go," Chance admitted. "She liked the psychology department, but I think the idea of being that far away still bothers her."

"Yeah, she likes to be nearby," Elin agreed. "And she's still trying to figure out an angle to get James to look at Amy again. Which would be hard to do if she's across the globe."

"If she goes to NYU, Gerry's already promised to help — with Amy too," Chance admitted. "You know, because it's hard to say no to Sunshine."

"I just don't know what Gerry would do to help other than be there smiling to charge her up."

"Might be plenty," Chance said, then shook his head. "He's a good friend."

Elin smirked to herself and nodded. "He is."

"Actually, he's been great for advice," Chance said slowly.

"He likes to do that," she agreed.

"Yeah, and I've got him and 'Lottie' double-teaming me, and you know that's never fun," Chance said with a little smirk.

"I'm sure they think they have your best interests in mind — but that doesn't mean you have to listen to them."

"Yeah, well, they're right," Chance said. He shook his head. "Never mind. I'll sort it out when I get back to Canada."

"If you need time to think, we can just head back. Not like the horses are going anywhere," she offered.

"No," he said quickly. "No. If it's alright with you, I just really want to enjoy a Christmas ride with my best friend."

"That's fine. I just don't want to get in your way of whatever's on your mind."

"El, I'd much rather spend time with you than think about what an idiot I am," Chance smirked.

She gave him a crooked little smile. "Okay then. Lead on. Your turn."

* * *

Billy and Teddy were visiting the twins when they saw Elin and Chance laughing and joking around with each other — and Teddy let out a groan that seemed to come from his toes.

Billy smirked, knowing exactly what Teddy was groaning about. "They'll figure it out."

"At the rate they're going?"

"I know it seems pretty hopeless, but you can trust me, right, babe?"

Teddy shook his head and then leaned over to steal a kiss. "That's not fair. I'm not saying I don't trust your _future _vision. But right now?" He gestured toward Elin and Chance. "Not even you can say that what's happening right now is anything less than a trainwreck."

"Believe it or not, this is the best possible timeline." Billy tipped his head to the side as the galaxies in his eyes swirled more intensely. "As long as I keep them on the right path. Pretty soon here, there's going to be some _major _bumps. And that's the part where I need to interfere to keep things from crashing down."

"Oh, yeah, _that _makes me feel better."

"Wasn't going to _lie _to you," Billy teased, the galaxies settling out as he turned to Teddy with a teasing smirk at the corner of his mouth.

"You better not," Teddy shot back, only too happy to get wrapped up in Billy instead of thinking about the _ridiculous _drama the next generation of heroes had going on.

He remembered what that had been like, and he was _so _glad he'd grown out of it and married Billy.


	17. No Means No

**A/N: This is the last chapter of this volume, but Volume 37, "Not Your Fault," will be up on Canucklehead Cowgirl's profile very soon!**

* * *

**Chapter 17: "No Means No"**

When Chance got back to Canada, he was thrilled about the prospect of getting in more flight time — but also a little sad to be back when he'd had two weeks with his family. He and Charlie had their birthday party, as usual, and now it was back to the daily grind instead of horseriding in the snow and helping Kade set up mistletoe so he could "kiss bomb" all of the adults, as he called it.

He had just finished hanging the picture James had given him — a gorgeous framed picture of the full junior X-Men team in action, including Cody, so it must have been recent — when Oliver stopped by.

"Homesick?" he asked, tipping his head toward the picture. "Already?"

"Hey, it was a good break," Chance said with a smile.

"Must have been," Oliver agreed. "Mine was good, too — we went ice fishing."

"Aw, man, I love that," Chance said with a grin.

"Well, it was nice not to have any homework. I don't know how you do all this and two teams."

"Hey, I don't know how you do this and do that design work. Have you shown your mom have those sketches?"

"Mom's not big on architecture."

"Yeah, but they're great," Chance pointed out as the two of them headed down to class together - no rest for the wicked, so to speak; plus, Chance had pretty much cut it as close as he could so that he could spend as much time as possible in Westchester.

Thankfully, Chance had a better schedule for his last semester than he had the previous one. He was cutting down as much as he could so that he had _time _to be on two teams and fly and go to practices _and _do important things like sleep.

He didn't quite get the chance to appreciate the lighter schedule on his first day, though, because once more, he had to go to the liaison's office — though at least this time, he'd expected it. Mr. Box had said last time that once the suit was all set, they'd want to go over the job contract for the team. And seeing as he was eighteen now, he could _be _on the team without the legal ramifications of him being a minor in danger.

So, he headed to the office in what was perhaps the naive hope that this would be an easy and fast visit. He'd just want to read through the thing and sign up — make sure it was the two-year paid contract and that everything was squared away with his work visa, that sort of thing.

Which was, for the most part, how it started out — with some paperwork and such ahead of the contract itself, since his eighteenth birthday had changed a few things now.

"I trust you had a restful break?" Box said, shuffling paperwork as Chance came into his office.

"Not so much restful as fun, but yeah, more or less," Chance said with a smile.

"Isn't that the same thing for young people your age?"

Chance grinned as he sat down. "Well, yeah," he had to agree. "What about you? Happy holidays — or I guess, whatever you celebrate… I don't mean to assume."

"You're perfectly fine, Mr. Summers. I don't celebrate any holidays anymore," Box replied before he gestured to the papers. "And besides … all of that's behind us now."

Chance nodded. "Right, yeah, back to business and all that," he said. "So, sign on the dotted line, right? Two years with Alpha Flight, all that."

"That is the gist of it," Box agreed.

"Great." Chance pulled the contract over to look over it — since; as excited as he was, he also wasn't stupid, and he wanted to make sure there wasn't some clause in there that would extend his stay longer than two years somehow. But it was all there, like he expected. The suit, the team — he nodded to himself and then pushed the signed contract Box's way. "You know, I was kind of expecting more confetti," he said with a smirk, mostly under his breth. "Anything else?"

"Since you asked — yes, likely. You'll need to see Mr. Horton and make arrangements on the details on whatever he deems necessary."

"Oh, alright," Chance said, nodding. "I thought we did all the administrative stuff already, though."

"Oh, it's not administrative," Box replied, resting his hands on the top of the desk. "It's more to do with the dispensary."

Chance frowned, his head tipped slightly as if he was trying to listen a little better. "The dispensary," he said evenly after a long time.

Box watched him for a moment with a furrowed brow. "Yes. Best to tie up those loose ends quickly, Mr. Summers."

Chance took a deep breath and then settled his shoulders. "Listen," he said slowly. "Forgive me if I'm reading this wrong; I'd hate to assume this kind of thing. But I'm well-aware of the fact that there's a supply of boost on this campus, and I'm not an idiot. I'm not touching that stuff." He sat up a little straighter. "I came out here to prove I could be a hero on my own. No powers. No family connections. If you didn't want a human kid on the team, you should have been straight with me from the start, but I'm not going to have artificial powers."

"Young man, this is simply a step in the process, and that particular determination is not up to me."

"Well, it's not up to Horton, either," Chance said evenly. "I'm not doing it. So let's just skip that 'step'."

He waved a hand impatiently. "Welcome to the team — and the bureaucracy — you'll still need to speak with him before you can go for your flight training."

"Fine," Chance said. "Then that's where I'm headed next — unless you have something else you want to spring on me?"

"It was all in the papers," Box said.

Chance shook his head. "That's not what I asked."

He paused and took a moment to meet his gaze and take him in. "No, I don't believe so."

"I read everything; there's nothing in there about a requirement for powers or boost or anything like that, and that's what I'm telling Horton, so unless you have something else you'd like to have an exercise in futility with me over…" Chance gestured to the door.

"Have a nice day, Mr. Summers."

Chance shook his head at that and simply headed for the door, falling into a glare all the way down to Horton's office — which he was _only _going to do to get this over with so he could get back to flying with Mac. And as soon as Horton invited him in, he tried to pull back the glare — though not that hard, admittedly.

"Box said I had to see you."

"Yes, please, have a seat. It's long overdue that we chatted."

Chance watched the suited man for a long time before he did so. "I have to tell you, right up front: I'm not going to go along with any drug program."

Horton watched him for a long moment. "Even without hearing what we can offer you?"

"I don't want it," Chance said. "The whole point of joining Alpha Flight was to prove to the world that I could do this without family connections, without powers — just me."

"And you have," he pointed out. "And now that you have, we're offering you the chance to expand your horizons and the effectiveness of what you already know."

Chance shook his head. "No. I know what this stuff does; I know what it can do."

"You know what it does to mutants, you mean," Horton said.

But Chance shook his head again. "All due respect, I don't care if it's different for humans. I have been training to be a hero since I was five, and if that's not good enough for you, then you're just going to have to get used to disappointment."

Horton smiled tightly and nodded his head once. "If you find that you're having trouble, please come and see me."

Chance got to his feet. "And when this is all said and done and I've rocked the Alpha Flight look for two years drug-free, please feel free to apologize," he said shortly before he strode out.

As soon as Chance was well and gone, Horton reached under the edge of his desk and hit a hidden button and waited for his liaison to appear.

"That was fast," Jamie said as she made her way over to sit down.

"He's being stubborn," Horton said once she was comfortable. "Do whatever you need to do."

She broke into a broad smile at that and nodded. "What would you like?"

"A higher dependency rate than usual, I think."

She nodded thoughtfully. "I should be able to do that, though that's usually for the more obvious powers."

"Slightly augmented strength and speed would be beneficial as well."

She nodded again. "I can make it gradual, so it looks like he's just hitting a stride on his own."

"Yes, make him think he's doing it himself," Horton agreed.

Her eyes were sparkling as she leaned forward. "I can do it, but I want to make a request: I get to be the one to tell him when you decide it's time to cash in on the dependency."

Horton weighed it out for a moment before he nodded curtly. "Done."

She grinned brilliantly and got to her feet to offer him her hand. "Within eight weeks," she said, "he'll be so dependent even the weekend trips will be rough. He won't be able to function without us."

"Excellent. The sooner he cuts his ties down south, the sooner we can move on."

* * *

Chance, meanwhile, was still fuming as he headed down to the workshop to meet up with Mac — which was clearly not what Mac had expected to see, considering Chance had been so excited to fly when he saw him last.

"Woah, who got on your bad side?" Mac asked, peeking up at him from the workbench.

"Pretty much the whole liaison's office," Chance said, his eyes still narrowed.

"Oh. Pencil pushers'll do that to you."

"They wanted to put me on _boost_, Mac," Chance bit out angrily, shaking his head to himself as he stopped in front of his own suit and stared at it. "I don't want it. I don't need it."

"What? Why ... " Mac shook his head. "That … doesn't sound right."

"Yeah, well, it isn't," Chance muttered.

"Who was it?" Mac said, looking serious — and honestly like he was ready to go kick someone.

Chance glanced up at him and let out a breath. "Box and Horton teamed up with some line about reaching higher potential or whatever," he said, waving a hand angrily.

"Yeah … I'll look into it, but I don't think you'd need that … I … yeah, who needs powers anyhow?"

"Apparently, I still do," Chance bit out, arms crossed as he settled into a real glare and sat down on the workbench.

"Yeah, I don't think so, kiddo."

"You know that, and I know that," Chance said, gesturing between himself and Mac. "But I swear, this is _exactly _what I came out here to put a stop to and I just — there's nothing wrong with me!" he said, his tone rising with the color in his cheeks.

Mac smirked up at him from where he was still seated. "Nothing at all," he agreed. "So … you wanna vent or do you wanna go kick the crap out of someone?"

"I'm not gonna lie: I really wanna kick the crap out of someone."

"Well, let's start with testing out your lasers," Mac said with a laugh. "I'm sure it'll help right now."

Chance almost smirked at that. "Yeah… if this was my brother, there'd be a hole in the wall, I'm not gonna lie."

"And now you have some on your wrists … or you will once you suit up."

"No, I know, it's just…" He smirked at last and shook his head. "Seems like a family thing. Get mad, get the lasers involved. I mean, mine are _actually _lasers, but — you know."

"Yeah, I just didn't see it until just now," Mac laughed.

"They pissed me off, Mac, what did you think I was gonna do when I got mad?" Chance asked. "My mom's worse."

Mac was laughing outright by that time though, shaking his head with one hand over his stomach.

"Hey, I'm serious," Chance said, though he was starting to smile too. "She wins arguments at home, man."

But that had Mac in tears, trying hard not to completely lose his composure, even though he was close.

Chance shook his head at that. "Okay, okay, come on. You said something about lasers."

Mac looked up with a grin and waved toward where Chance's suit was kept. "Let's go blow things up."

* * *

Box — whose real name was Jerome Jaxon, but he wasn't going to give that name to anyone affiliated outside of Weapon X, no matter how naive the Summers boy seemed to be in matters of the department — barely looked up when the door opened to admit Horton. He saw in only a second how annoyed Horton looked and then turned back to his files.

"I take it the meeting didn't go according to plan," Box said dryly.

"When does it ever?" Horton asked in a tone that conveyed how _inconvenienced _he was by Chance Summers going against his plans. "It's just like the last time around. Anytime we've stepped in to deal with the bureaucracy of governmental politics and military advances, some upstart has to get all … moral. As if anyone gives a damn about heroes." He huffed and tossed the file folder on the desk in front of himself. "He'll get over it. And he'll get on board. One way or another."

"I should hope so," Box replied. "We've put a lot of money into this one based on several recommendations. I'm surprised, frankly, that the boy's public interest levels are so high. Seems to be an oddity to the public that his old man didn't toss him out when he didn't come up with an x-gene. We can make use of that. Though it would be better if we could discredit the old man _first._ Rescuing an abused human from a mutant family would play better in the press."

"That could prove difficult," Horton said slowly. "But I'll see what we can do. What's more interesting is how much he knows."

Box looked up, more interested whenever the conversation turned to intelligence of any kind. He was constantly on the lookout for leaks and spies, and to be frank, he hadn't trusted the Summers boy's interest in the Canadian program at all. "What does he know?"

"Nothing about us," Horton swore, holding one hand up in front of him, though he was smiling crookedly to himself. "It appears we were right all along. The X-Men have been using _our _wayward weapons to build up their own little army. They've been using X and K to _train _the young mutants that go through their 'school'."

"That confirmed?" Box asked, already clearing his desk off so he could let his fidgeting habit roam freely, one hand already tapping out a specific pattern one finger at a time.

"The Summers kid keeps bragging about what they trained him to do — and he certainly has some positive markers that each of them had engrained into their programming. There's no way he'd have learned that on his own. He had to have picked it up from them."

"Was the training forced? Or did X and K teach him voluntarily?" Box asked. "We need to know these things. If the X-Men found a way to make those two _work_ … I want to know how _before _we recover our investments."

"The plan I'd like to propose will involve finding out exactly what Mr. Summers knows about them, about how they're getting the two _Howletts _to cooperate, the details on their security, what _other _mutants we can sequester from their stronghold … all of which can be done while we use him for _our _PR campaign."

"Just make sure that when we burn the X-Men's reputation to where it belongs, he doesn't take us with him," Box warned. "And if you don't keep a separation between us and the Summers boy, it'll be _your _head on the chopping block. Not mine."

"Understood."


End file.
